A Second Chance
by Pure-chan
Summary: Once, I was known as Candice Satou-Fay. Once, books were my escape from reality. That all ended the day I found myself in a world I did not belong with no possible way back. With every change I make, my past takes a step closer to my present. Before I knew it, I had long since passed the point of no return. My name is Satou Haruka and I am here to stay. OC travel-fic
1. Arrival

**Plot bunnies love me very much for some reason. Alas, even when I am supposed to be on hiatus, they do not cease to torment me. Or maybe I've been reading too many Detective Conan OC fics.**

**In any case, I've come to try it out for myself. Hopefully, this will turn out better than the Harry Potter fic that I have been re-writing again and again with little to no success. **

**I apologize if some of my information on the character's background and the Japanese education system is incorrect. I apologize even more if my information on Detective Conan is incorrect, but if that is the case, I hope that you, readers, would be kind enough to point it out. Also, there may be some inconsistencies regarding time, but I will try to make it work as much as possible so the dates for some cases may change, but the manga's main timeline - as in the order of the cases - will be maintained.**

**I do not own Detective Conan, Magic Kaito and anything related to them. The only thing I do own is the plot for this story and my OCs.**

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

I inwardly cursed as I regained consciousness. I vaguely remembered arriving at the place where Helena told me to meet her and Lea, and seeing the twins being pulled through some kind of portal as they fell from the abandoned treehouse. Since I blacked out not long after that, I guess that I must have gone through the portal as well. Unfortunately, that did not mean we landed in the same place. In fact, if traveling through portals worked the same way as it did in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, then the possibility of that happening is very, well, possible. And of course, all that aside, if we did travel through worlds (that seemed a lot more likely than a teleportation experiment gone wrong), what kind of world did we land in? A world filled with liars, or better yet, without morals? Speaking of which, what if I didn let alone world m pretty certain that I am currently in a living as I was lying on a couch and a television was in front of me, a coffee table in between. As I sat up, I heard someone in a nearby room and wondered how I should confront the owner of the apartment.

As I looked out the window to see if I recognized the setting, I heard someone gasp.

I turned around, tense, ready to strike if needed be.

In front of me stood someone I had only seen in manga and anime: Miyano Akemi. Eldest daughter of Miyano Atsuhi and Miyano Elena (Hell Angel), both deceased scientists who once worked for the Organization, or more specifically, the APTX 4869 they called the . Elder sister of Miyano Shiho aka Haibara Ai, codename: Sherry, 18 years old, who has been schooled in America before returning to Japan in order to continue the research on APTX 4869 which she will perfect if she hasns hand, an event that will become the catalyst of her sister betraying the Organization.

Did I mention that, in other words, about only 1,797753% in the continuing series?

I curse you, Aoyama Gosho.

I really do.

* * *

**So, how did I do? I am not sure when I will be posting the next chapter, but I intend to especially work on this by the time White Phoenix, Blue Moon is completed. And I have not forgotten Inconsistent Moon either, though the most I can promise for now is the completion of the Weston arc.**

**Please tell me what you think! :)**


	2. Introduction

**Well, this is my first chapter. There isn't much to say, but I do hope that you will all enjoy it.**

**I don't own Detective Conan.**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

**_Chapter One - Introduction_**

* * *

Once I got over the shock of being in the Detective Conan universe – or to be precise, trying to with little success– Akemi (should I call her Miyano-san instead?) smiled softly and handed me a cup of tea before sitting in an armchair.

"H-Hello," I stammered in English. "Ano, I mean, konnichiwa. Ano… Where am I?"

"This is the apartment I currently reside in. My name is Miyano Akemi, what about you?"

I slowly took in the information she gave me. It wasn't more than I already knew, but it was better having her confirm it. Though I wasn't certain, it is very probable that the apartment is in Beika-cho. If I recalled correctly, Beika-cho was just a small river away from Ekoda-cho and on the left side of Haido-cho. Also, since it seems that Akemi was the one who brought me in her apartment, there are high chances that it isn't bugged, like Kir's. But their situations are different so I cannot really compare… Then again, the Org has or is going to plant the 1 billion yen robbery idea soon, so there wouldn't be any need for bugs or cameras… right?

"Are you all right?"

Startled, my head shot up to see Akemi looking at me worriedly.

"It's nothing much…" Right. "Not to be impolite, Miyano-san, but there aren't bugs here, are there? Your place seems pretty clean, but" I faked a shiver. "I really can't stand spiders."

"Don't worry, there aren't any," she reassured me, but her eyes have become cautious.

"Is that so…" I trailed off, still uncertain. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Haruka. Sato Haruka. I'm sorry for causing all this trouble."

"Not at all." Her eyes softened. "Haruka-chan – may I call you that? – could you tell me why you were unconscious in the middle of an alley at night?"

"I… I don't really remember…" I lied smoothly. "I remember going out for a walk, but after that, it's kind of fuzzy…"

"I'd call your family if I were you," she suggested. "They must be very worried by now. I'm surprised that they haven't reported you missing to the police. You _did_ remain unconscious for two days."

I took a deep breath. I knew I could trust Miyano-san with my secret and all the evidence is pointing towards the apartment being a safe place to tell such secrets. Which is a good thing because, to be honest, even if I wanted to tell her outside the apartment, who knows if there are members tailing us?

"Will you listen to my story?" I asked seriously, putting the tea cup on the wooden table. "It is quite unbelievable, but true and I trust you not to tell the Organization about this. And… I really need your help."

"Wh-Who are you?" Akemi almost dropped her own cup of coffee. "How do you know about the Organization?"

"Will you be willing to listen to me before you debate on what to do with me?"

Once I received her consent, I began to tell her who I was.

"First off, you can call me Satou Haruka, but it's not my real name. Much like you, I am half-Japanese, half-European." I didn't elaborate too much on my family, deciding to skip to the main point instead. "Where I come from, there is a very popular manga known as Detective Conan. And if I am not incorrect, then I have somehow landed in the universe created by its author, unless if this is a fanfiction – which I hope it isn't. Wait," I raised my hand, ready to counter any objections, "I know that it is supposed to be impossible – I'm still trying to adjust to it myself – but I can assure you that not only am I sane, but I am also speaking the truth. I swear it upon my body on the physical plane, my soul on the heavenly plane and my fortune on the starry plane."

Seeing her confused expression, I added: "xxxHolic reference. Though I have never swore in this fashion before, I have a hunch that I will have very bad luck, lots of injuries and maybe even die if I had lied."

"I… Let's say I believe you and you do possess knowledge of this world," Miyano-san compromised. "What are you planning on doing with it?"

I crossed my arms. "I want to take down the Organization and find a way to return home. Not necessarily in that order, but I have to ensure that they don't find out about the world where I come from because its knowledge will give them too many advantages to count and they will be able to win the battle against the FBI thanks to that. Then again, just having them research on the phenomenon of different worlds, universes, is much too dangerous. And if they knew what I know, they would definitely come after me and as much as committing suicide would be a nice way to keep information from them, I don't intend to die this young, especially not without helping as much as I can."

"I see you are aware of the danger you're in," Miyano-san nodded. "But… why me?"

I gave a grim smile. "I know that you are trustworthy and that you're planning on leaving the Organization with your younger sister who happens to be a scientist working for them. You are a good person, Miyano-san. I may be a bit naïve, saying this, but I do think that it's more than enough for me to trust you."

"So you know about the billion yen robbery?" Miyano-san smiled sadly. "I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised."

"Have you contacted Mouri Kogorou-san to find Hirota-san?" After all, I needed to know just where I was so I could be able to play chess accordingly.

"I have. I called him again a few minutes before you woke up."

If I remembered correctly, "Hirota Masami" will be reunited with her "father" about a week after she first contacted the detective. A few days later, Mouri-san-tachi will find out about Hirota-san's murder and that night, Gin will kill Miyano-san.

"How many days has it been since you went to the detective agency?" I asked.

"Two days… I found you on the way back."

"The Organization doesn't watch over this building, correct?"

"No…"

"So, in other words, I can pretty much come and go as I like…" I said thoughtfully. "I'm heading to Ekoda."

"Eh?" Miyano-san blinked in surprise. "Why?"

"Let's just say that I'm planning on saving your life," I told her. "I'd rather head to Ekoda alone though, just in case someone is tailing you. Once I've made sure of everything, I will come back and tell you. But first…"

I looked at the pajamas I was wearing and finally noticed the lack of glasses.

"I need to change."

ooOOoo

I hopped off the bus as calmly as I could and headed towards the area I knew the Kuroba residence to be in. It helped that I had a photographic memory; if it weren't for that, I would have to intercept him right out of school and that would attract too much unwanted attention, especially from Nakamori Aoko and Hakuba Saguru.

Thankfully, I made it to the Kuroba residence sometime after classes were over. Since Ekoda High wasn't so far from here, the current Kid should be home soon enough if he wasn't already. I turned around and spotted a very familiar high school prankster, his childhood friend nowhere in sight.

"Are you looking for someone?" asked the brown-haired boy.

I nodded. "Would you happen to be Kuroba Kaito?"

"Yup, that's me," the boy grinned. "So what does a cute girl like you want with me?"

"Kuroba Kaito-san, I really need your help."

"Oh... Well, come on in. I guess this isn't the best place to discuss it," he replied a bit nervously as he led me in his house.

Though there had been a factor that I did not expect, aka Phantom Lady, Kuroba Chikage. who just happened to be home.

"Kaito, is this your girlfriend?" the beautiful woman asked as we went inside the living room.

"Okaa-san, what are you doing here?" Kaito exclaimed. "I thought you were supposed to be in the States."

"Can't I come home to visit my own son?" Kuroba-san asked with a teasing voice. "By the way, you still haven't answered my question."

"Kuroba-senpai and I are not dating, Kuroba-san," I declared in his stead. "I came here to ask him for help. But since Kuroba-san is here too, it may be best if the both of you listened to what I have to say."

Kuroba-san's face turned serious as she gestured for us to sit down. My hands were beginning to sweat as I pondered how I should broach the subject. In fact, I mostly hoped that they would not only be willing to hear me out, but also help me. After all, in order for my plan to work, I must have at least a bullet-proof vest and a bag of blood. That meant I didn't necessarily need Kaito or his mother's help in the first place. But since I planned on contacting Kaito eventually anyways, I suppose that it wasn't that bad. I also needed Kuroba-san to help me create an identity for this world.

Taking a deep breath, I finally dived in head first.

"Phantom thief 1412, named Kid by Kudou Yuusaku, is an internationally recognized thief. This particular Kaitou only steals gems, never failing to return them, and is an excellent magician. However, he had an eight-year hiatus before he reappeared. The one behind the monocle isn't the original Kid, Kuroba Toichi-san who was killed by men in black though, but the second generation of phantom thief, Kuroba Kaito-senpai."

I continued, well aware that both mother and son were doing their best to keep their poker face on. I don't blame them.

"I have come in contact with a member of a similar if not same organization. I personally believe it is the latter as the ones who killed the first Kid would most likely be dead otherwise." I crossed by legs and bit my thumb. "The woman in question will be backstabbed by her superiors in a couple of days, at the docks, and I would like her death to be faked. Though she isn't in too deep with the Organization, her sister has been one of the few high-ranking ones to receive a codename. I don't doubt that they will be a great help in bringing down the Organization."

"Why do you want to take them down?" Kaito asked curiously.

"They've hurt enough people as it is and they will only continue," I thought back to all of the instances in the manga where they were involved. "And there is a secret I must protect, less I become a target and the downfall of their enemies."

Neither spoke for a moment. There wasn't much else I could do at this rate. The ball was in their side of the field; I can only wait for their next move.

"We'll help you," Kuroba-san finally decided. "But you should probably repeat what you just said in detail."

I let out the breath I had been holding ever since I began my confrontation. Yes, if it is like this, maybe, just maybe, everything will be alright.

* * *

**Everything is moving along a bit fast, but there isn't any time to lose. I hope I had Kaito and Chikage in character.**

**Please review!**

**Next Chapter: Rescue Mission**


	3. Rescue Mission

**I've been wanting to save Akemi-san for a long time. I just hope that this is plausible... It's different from the original plan, but this one seems much more realistic. **

**I don't own the DC series, Aoyama-sensei does.**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

**_Chapter Two - Rescue Mission_**

* * *

My name is Candice S. Fay, but the Detective Conan universe knows me as Satou Haruka. "Sa" for "help" and "tou" for "wisteria", "Haru" for "spring" and "ka" for "flower". A few days after I resigned from school attend online classes instead, my only friends, Lea and Helena, told me to meet them at the abandoned treehouse in the uninhabited area of the city. Once I arrived there, I witnessed the twins falling from the treehouse and being sucked into a portal. I was pulled in as well and when I regained consciousness, I discovered that I was in the Detective Conan verse upon meeting Miyano Akemi. Since we were a couple of days away from her scheduled death, I decided to arrange a plan with the Kuroba family in which her death will be faked.

Oh yes, I almost forgot! Before I left for Ekoda, I borrowed some of Akemi-san's hair dye, a headband and a hairband. My previously jet black hair is now light auburn and all I needed to do was pull it into a ponytail. Truth to be told, I have no true reason to disguise myself that way. It wasn't as though the Black Organization was after me, _yet_. Well, landing in a different world is a chance for new beginnings.

oOOo

The Plan has finally been finalized two days ago. Though Akemi-san didn't contact Chikage-san and Kaito-senpai –they insisted on dropping the formalities – we went over it many times. Failure was definitely not an option. As much as Helena cradled the idea of Gin actually being a good person under the murderer he is (she always believes in the antagonists if she see the slimmest chances of them redeeming themselves), I am not so confident about it and – I thought back to his brutality and eagerness to kill Sherry – with good reason. The only members that just might turn around are Vermouth and Bourbon, but even then, I still don't trust them at all. Well, maybe Vermouth a bit more than Bourbon who is still a recent character.

Anyways, back to the Plan. Once Akemi-san left the hotel room where her partner was currently residing, she will leave the money at the hotel reception desk. Afterwards, she will quickly head to the ladies' restroom where Chikage-san will be waiting for her. With Chikage-san disguised as Akemi-san and vice-versa, Chikage-san will head towards the docks on a taxi while Akemi-san will head towards the Kuroba residence after Jii-san picks her up. From there, we will have to count on Chikage-san acting skills. She may be no Kudou Yukiko or Sharon Vineyard, but she should be able to fool Gin and Vodka.

What about Conan and Ran, who will have heard the gunshot? That's where Kaito will come in play. His goal is to distract them. Doing so at the hotel would be too risky, so it'll have to be at the docks. Since Akemi-san's meeting place with Gin and Vodka is in a warehouse (the manga seemed to have combined with the anime…), maybe an explosion or two would suffice. Nothing more than flash bombs, but more than enough to attract someone's attention. Gin and Vodka will only think of it as delinquents or something along those lines, but it will urge them to pull the trigger and get away faster.

Of course, Chikage-san will already have a vest and a bag of blood under her disguise so she wouldn't be harmed. Once the two crows will have left, Chikage-san will bring out the flask of petrol and the corpse she had somehow managed to steal (I don't know the details and I don't want to). We have to make the fire seem like the work of whoever made the explosions earlier, so there will be some dynamites on the scene.

That way, it will make the news so there would be no doubt about Akemi-san's "death". The corpse in question already has a wound where Gin will shoot Chikage-san, so that's covered as well. The only thing that would make a dent was the corpse's dental marks. Luckily, it was the charred body of a woman they found some time back and it was already in bad shape though there were no odors or bugs flying around… (I learned that there are some things about the Phantom Lady that a person _really_ doesn't need to know.)

And me?

I am responsible for keeping the Kuroba residence.

ooOOoo

It was already past eight and I was pacing inside the living room. Akemi-san had left the apartment to see her other partner in Haido Hotel over three hours ago and I left to come here an hour later. Due to the preparations, both mother and son had already left as well, leaving me alone in the house. There had been no specific time for Conan's arrival at the hotel or when Akemi-san was supposed to meet with the Organization, but it shouldn't take this long!

"Honestly, what's going on over there?" I asked as I looked towards the television. The news were on and nothing had yet to be said about the fire. At this rate, I'll begin to panic soon.

**_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_**

"They're here!" I exclaimed as I went to open the door. Sure enough, both Akemi-san and Jii-san were there, safe and sound. Part A of the plan is officially successful.

"Please come in," I stepped aside. "I was really getting worried, you know. I swear that you've shortened my life by a decade!"

"I am very sorry for that," Jii bowed. "There was some construction going on so we had to take a longer route."

"Well, as long as the two of you are all right," I shrugged. "I already fixed some dinner for everyone but you'll have to wait while I heat it."

"Arigatou, Haruka-chan," Akemi smiled brightly.

"No problem, it's been a long week for all of us," I replied as I entered the kitchen.

I heard the two guests sit in the living room, watching the news, as I turned on the cooktop. After spending four years alone in a house, you learn to quickly polish your cooking skills amongst others. I still remember the first few weeks I spent with overcooked or pretty much raw meat, burned food and others. At least I wasn't as dangerous as Tendo Akane inside a kitchen (insert shiver here). I would have died a long time ago if that were the case.

"**Breaking news**," announced a news reporter. "**The perpetrator of the billion yen robbery has committed suicide after killing one of her partners in the Haido City Hotel. The woman in question, Hirota Masami, had burned down in the warehouse you see behind me. Even now, the firefighters are trying to put out the flames, but to no avail. Two passerby had claimed to see explosions nearby, so it is highly possible that some criminal caused the flames after Hirota-san took her own life.**"

"**The police has found the stolen yen in the hotel's reception desk as well as a suicide note**," he continued. "**I will now ask the passerby for details of this affair.**"

_Bzit!_

Akemi-san turned off the screen.

"It seems that Chikage-sama and bocchama have succeeded," Jii commented as I began putting out the plates.

"I'm glad," Akemi-san declared as she stood up. "It seems that we can finally have a bit of rest after all of this chaos."

I smirked. Chaos indeed. Not only did we plan Akemi-san's fake death during the past five days, but new identities for Akemi-san and I as well. Chikage-san had managed to take care of the official papers (I suspect that it's actually Kudou Yuusaku's doing) and within the next few days, the both of us will begin living together as sisters.

oOOo

"I have good news for everyone!" Chikage-san exclaimed the next day as we gathered for breakfast. "All of the necessary documents have been taken care of. Akemi-chan and Haruka-chan can move in their new home today. Also, just as Haruka-chan suggested, Akemi-chan will become a new teacher in Teitan Elementary starting next week. As for Haruka-chan, since she is a genius, she will be attending Ekoda High with Kaito this coming Monday."

"N-Nani?!" I exclaimed, nearly dropping my bowl. "But... the test I took... Masaka..."

"Yup!" Chikage-san smiled mischievously. "It was actually Ekoda High's entrance exam!"

"No wonder those questions seemed harder than the average middle-school work..." I mumbled under my breath. How could I not have noticed?

"Oh yeah," Kaito-senpai said, trying to lighten the mood. "How old are you anyways?"

I sighed. "I will be fourteen on October 31st."

"So your birthday is on Halloween then?" Akemi-san asked. "Mine is on July 7th."

"Tanabata, if I remember correctly," I smiled. Her birthday is a happy occasion for two reasons, now that she has Akai.

"I'm born on June 22nd," Kaito-senpai pointed at himself, grinning. "So what is the back story exactly? I haven't had a good chance to hear it."

"My name is Satou Haruka and this is my onee-san, Satou Hinata," I gestured towards Akemi-san. "We've moved here from the United States where we had been staying with relatives since our parents died a long time ago. I'm actually a cousin who has been living with her family, so that should clear the age difference problem. Hinata-nee-san wanted to come back to Japan where she lived in when she was young, so I followed her and here we are."

"That was all Haruka-chan's idea," Chikage-san chirped. "She decided just about everything."

"So you're a born leader, huh?" Kaito-senpai grinned. "That's Haruka-chan for you."

I blinked in surprise before smiling. A born leader? Oh, Kaito-senpai, you couldn't be any more wrong…

oOOo

Akemi-san – I mean Hinata-nee-san – and I had chosen our apartment due to its proximity to Beika-cho and the Kuroba's residence. It was a nice apartment complex, to be honest. Just like the ones we always see in manga and anime… Wait, I _am_ in a… Please disregard that last comment.

The apartment had a two bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen and a bathroom that was connected to the master's room. We didn't have any annoying neighbors and it was a calm place. Since Chikage-san and Akemi-san have ordered the furniture, appliances and everything else, the only things missing were personal belongings such as clothes, toothbrushes and so on.

Despite our protests, Chikage-san allowed us to use her credit card to buy everything we needed. She didn't even tell us how much we were allowed to spend, she just pushed the card into our faces! Well, it did make the shopping trip worthwhile, so I can't really complain.

Once we've settled down, it was already time for supper. Hinata-nee-san and I have already set down a schedule for the chores including cooking. Unfortunately or fortunately, I was adverse to eating the same meal, spaghetti for example, twice for a lapse of three to five days. It was a habit that was kind of drilled in when I was small.

"I had hoped to live like this with Shiho," Hinata-nee-san told me as we ate the curry she prepared. "Thank you… for saving my life."

I did not reply. I may have saved the elder sister, but it will take some time, a few months to be precise, before she can reunite with her sibling. And even then...

"Ne, Haruka-chan," she spoke. "What about your family? Aren't they going to be worried about you?"

"Family, huh? My family and I… We aren't really on speaking terms," I replied sadly. "I don't think we've ever been."

Hinata-nee-san remained silent. I didn't know what her expression was, as I had lowered my face, but I think that she was somewhat shocked.

"My father was the lord of the family. When he died, about four years ago, our family broke apart," I went on. "Mother is most likely traveling around the world for her company and my brother has either immersed himself in studies or gotten a job or something, not that he's ever told me what he was doing… Neither have returned home for at least a year now. I've been living alone ever since the incident. I'm already… used to it, you know."

I smiled, hoping that it was enough for Hinata-nee-san, hoping that it was enough to show everyone that I was all right with all of that, but I really wanted to cry. Suddenly, two arms wrapped themselves around me tightly and… I buried myself in her chest. My whimpers echoed through the room as the meal remained on the table forgotten. Tears wouldn't come out, no matter how hard I tried. It was as though three years' worth of frustration was not enough for water to flow from my eyes.

Somewhere, deep inside, I can still picture the four of us smiling happily for the camera. The perfect picture of a "perfect" family. A family that lost its only support and fell apart like some broken toy. A family that has lost a second member, one who may never return home.

Then again, they've never cared about what happened to me, did they?

* * *

**So... that was a bit of insight on Haruka/Candice's background. There's more to it, obviously, but I won't be revealing any of that anytime soon. I have some trouble writing Akemi-san - probably because she died early on and most of what we know about her is from flashbacks. **

**Please comment (constructive comments, please), favorite or follow!**

**Next Chapter: A New Beginning**


	4. A New Beginning

**And now we introduce Satou Hinata and Satou Haruka to the world! I hope you enjoy!**

**I do not own the Detective Conan series, still awaiting for the next chapter.**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

_**Chapter Three - A New Beginning**_

* * *

"Come on, settle down, class," an elementary homeroom teacher clapped her hands as the children rushed to their seats.

* * *

"Stand. Salute. Sit."

* * *

"Today, we have a new English teacher joining us," the young woman turned towards the door. "Please come in."

* * *

"As some of you may be aware, 2-B has a new student as of today."

* * *

The door opened to reveal a young woman with short, light brown hair a few inches above her shoulders. She had beautiful green eyes as well. All in all, a very pretty teacher.

* * *

The door slid open, letting a young girl into the classroom where she turned to face her classmates. Her light auburn hair was certainly an eye-catcher, as were the two calculating turquoise eyes.

* * *

"Ohayou gozaimasu, minna-san," she smiled kindly at her new pupils. "Watashi no namae wa Satou Hinata desu."

* * *

"Hajimemashite, my name is Satou Haruka and I've just transferred from America," the girl wrote her name on the board.

* * *

"Yoroshiku oneigaishimasu," both bowed at the same time. "I hope to have a nice year with all of you."

oOOo

During break, my desk was swarmed by a mob of curious classmates. I knew that new students usually garnered a lot of attention for the first few days, but isn't this a bit too much? I know that there aren't many transfers from overseas and I am three years younger than all of them… Maybe that's why.

"Satou-san, why are you so small?" asked one of the boys. Looks like I'm right this time around.

"What do you mean?" I replied innocently. "Last time I checked, my height is normal for people like me."

"Are all Japanese who live in America this tiny then?" another asked.

Well, Shiho-san will be even smaller…

"Of course not!" I told him. "When I said my height is normal for people like me, I meant it is normal for thirteen-years-olds."

My new classmates nodded as it made perfect sense. It wasn't afterwards that they realized what it meant.

"NANI?!"

I sighed and pulled out a piece of paper on which I quickly wrote a couple of words. Once it was done, I stuck the paper on a person's face. Of course, the person in question was chosen at random. Not.

Kaito-senpai took off the paper, annoyed, but he still read it out loud: "Name: Satou Haruka. Age: 13. Particularities: Genius with an IQ of 200. The rest does not concern you at the current time."

"Oh, and if you don't mind, I would like to have some space to breathe," I said absently as I went through some textbooks.

"Oi, oi, was it really necessary to stick this on my face?" Kaito-senpai asked, waving the sheet of paper.

"I needed someone to be my messenger, senpai," I adjusted my big, round glasses. "Since you are the one sitting in front of me, you are the best candidate. That's all there is to it."

"Just call me Kaito."

"Very well then, Kaito-senpai."

"No, just Kaito."

"Kaito-senpai," I said calmly. _Being Satou Haruka for real is quite entertaining._ "You are older than me and have been in high school longer than I as well. It is only fitting to add the –senpai suffix. Do you understand?"

"But I'm asking you to forgo the formalities here!" Kaito-senpai protested.

"And I will not follow your request."

"Haruka-chan!" he whined.

"No is no."

"Demo ~"

"Kuroba Kaito," my voice held a dangerous edge to it. "If you do not cease to annoy me this instant, you will regret it. Very, very much."

"K-K-K… Kowaii…"

"Kaito-senpai."

"Hai! Wakarimashita!"

oOOo

To be honest, I had a lot of fun scaring Kaito-senpai. His face wasn't as bad as when he is met with fish, but what can I say? I am no mermaid.

It would have been a perfect first day at Ekoda High if not for the murder that occurred nearby once school let out. Of course, as a new important character of the series, I just had to be nearby when a man dropped dead in the middle of the street. And, as the daughter of an officer and being a mystery otaku, there was no way that I would go to the body to determine the cause of death. After calling the police of course.

"Oi, oi," Kaito-senpai whispered to me as the crowd began to gather. "Weren't you supposed to _not_ attract the public's attention?"

"That's Hinata-nee-san's role," I absently returned my cellphone in my pocket. "However, I find that, being someone _they_ do not have on their death list, attracting attention isn't too bad. It's not like I'm going to solve the case or anything."

Famous last words.

By the look of Kaito-senpai's arched eyebrow, he certainly agrees.

I felt eyes on me during the whole investigation. Two pairs of eyes to be exact. The same eyes that were watching me during class and studying my every action. However, the owners of these eyes had not approached me. But they might, soon.

"…and that is the final evidence against you Takamura-san," I declared while crossing my arms. "Any other questions?"

"K-Kisama…!" the man was barely able to hold back his anger. "If it weren't for you, I would have gotten away! That man had it coming to him! It wasn't just me who hated him, we all did. That conniving, evil bastard had no right to order us around like that!"

"You can share your story with the police later," I told him as he sank to the ground. "But please note that even if I didn't happen to come by, there is another who would have revealed you as the culprit. Revenge isn't always the answer, but murder is never the answer."

"That was quite the speech, Haruka-chan," Kaito-senpai complimented once it was over.

"Kaito-senpai..."

As the crowd began to clear, I could clearly see Hakuba Saguru in his school uniform, leaning against a nearby building. As for the other person, she left as the crowd dispersed.

"Excuse me, Miss, could you give me your number?" an officer asked as the criminal got into the car.

"Oh, of course," I scribbled some numbers on his notepad. "Here."

"Thank you. We will be contacting you shortly about this case."

"I understand," I bowed as he left.

oOOo

That certainly wasn't the last case I got myself involved in. In fact, in the first week of school, I had a total of four cases. Four cases during which Hakuba Saguru watched me very carefully. Four cases that just _had_ to be murder cases of all things. Did death have to follow intelligent teenagers – I know that I'm only a pre-teen, but still – everywhere? At this rate, Ekoda-cho's death rate may soon be as high as Beika-cho's. And I still haven't talked about what happened last week, my second week at Ekoda High.

"Oi, Haruka-chan!"

With a sigh (and a small smile), I turned around to see Kaito-senpai and Nakamori-senpai running towards me.

"Kaito-senpai, Nakamori-senpai, ohayou gozaimasu," I nodded.

"Mou, how many times do I have to tell you to only call me Kaito?"

"For the rest of your life," I shrugged. "Probably."

"Haruka-chan is so mean!"

"And Kaito-senpai is so very childish."

"Um… Ano…"

I smiled at the other girl. "What is it, Nakamori-senpai?"

"I think we should get going if we don't want to be late," she suggested. "And please, call me Aoko."

"Aoko-senpai it is," I agreed. "Please call me Haruka."

oOOo

"Ne, Haruka-chan, how is life in America?" Aoko-senpai asked as we headed towards school.

"I lived in a small place, not like those big cities you always see in movies like New York or Las Vegas," I told her. "But it has a very nice scenery. School is different from here though, because instead of the teachers changing classrooms, the students are. Though there are some rare cases where classes of the same subjects are held in different classrooms. Also, public schools are usually the ones without uniforms unlike here. We also usually have only one door to each classroom and instead of leaving our books in our desks, we leave them in lockers since we're always changing classrooms."

"Wow, it really is different from here," Aoko-senpai exclaimed. "It's probably hard to get used to."

I shrugged. "I've always been able to adapt easily."

"And what about your friends?" Kaito-senpai asked from behind us. "You miss them, don't you?"

"That's true, but I'm sure they understand." I thought back to the day everything had changed. "We've been friends since we were in elementary after all. But Lea and Helena are two years older than me, so they are probably handling it better than I."

Speaking of which, I wasn't even certain if they landed in this world. If they did, I can only pray that Helena can make up a good background story. It shouldn't be too hard, and since she also read the series, she should know where to go for help… However, if Lea is alone here, then I just may fear for her life. After all, she only knows the main lines of the plot, not even what the characters look like for the most part. Well, at least they're probably not shrunk… Hopefully…

"Don't you have any friends your age?" Aoko-senpai inquired.

I shook my head. "Acquaintances yes, but friends, no. Well, I am somewhat at fault for that."

"Haruka-chan is very mature for her age," she commented.

Well, sometimes, it's hard not to be, I thought wryly.

"What about you two? You're childhood friends, aren't you?"

"E-Eh? How did you know?"

"Keiko-senpai told me," I replied. "Something about husband and wife…"

"Chigau! Chigau!" Aoko-senpai protested. "It's nothing like that!"

"I see… So the both of you are still in denial, huh?"

"Baka! Why would I like that Ahouko?!"

"Baka wa Bakaito da! Aoko would never end up with you!"

I nodded sagely. "Yup, still in denial."

"Haruka-chan!"

oOOo

As usual, classes passed by like a breeze. For the first time since she left me, I was thankful to my mother. If it weren't for the Japanese lessons she forced Carl and I to go through, I would definitely be behind my current classmates. I may have a good memory, but this kind of thing takes practice. I am still a bit behind in Literature though, but Hinata-nee-san has been helping me with that and the teacher simply expects me to catch up soon, so it isn't that bad.

However, unlike the past two weeks, I had company during lunchtime. First was Aoko-senpai who dragged Kaito-senpai along with her. Then, Koizumi Akako insisted on joining (I think she just wants to see how I distort the world around me). Finally, Hakuba Saguru sat with us as well.

"Haruka-chan, let me introduce you," Aoko-senpai gestured towards the other two. "This is Koizumi Akako-chan and Hakuba Saguru-kun. He also came from overseas."

"Hajimemashite, you should already know, but I am Satou Haruka."

"A very special name," the Scarlet Witch commented. "A very fitting name indeed."

Though this is the second time she's told me that, I still can't get used to it.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Koizumi-senpai."

"Hey, Haruka-chan," Kaito-senpai spoke as we began eating. "What do you think about Kaitou Kid?"

I leaned back in my chair with a smirk. "The ever elusive phantom thief who happens to be a magician, that Kid?" I teased, pretending not to notice people eavesdropping. "He broke the law several times and even if he does return what he steals, he is at least charged with breaking in and entering. In front of the law, he is a criminal, there is no doubt about that. However, as a person… I think he is an idiot. A nice idiot, but still an idiot."

"And why would you think that, Satou-san?" asked the half-British detective in his accented Japanese.

"Well, Hakuba-senpai, Kaitou Kid seems to have a "no one gets hurt" policy that he has yet to go against. That should be enough to show that he is a kind person." I finished my onigiri. "However, the simple fact that he continues to steal the way he does, risking his life all the time, should be more than enough to prove his idiocy. Despite all of Kid's faults, he is a good person. At least, that is my personal opinion."

"Well… When you put it that way…" Aoko-senpai said thoughtfully.

"So, are you one of his supporters?" Hakuba-senpai asked me.

"Saa?" I shrugged. "If I am, that makes me a supporter who wishes for him to disappear as soon as possible."

oOOo

Once school had let out, I packed my bag and headed towards the gym, or more specifically, the trees on the south-west side of the gym. Most of the students were gathered in front of the school, leaving the premises unlike me.

The place was deserted by the time I got there. Though the soccer and archery clubs were in session, as well as the basketball and volleyball teams, they were either inside or on the other side of the gym. Also, except for fans and club members, no one sticks around for long which made the place a perfect meeting spot for people like us.

"Hakuba-senpai?" I walked towards him. "Why did you want to see me?"

He showed me a couple of articles from the newspaper. Or, if one wants to be specific, the crime section of the newspaper. The same section that I have been reading in order to settle myself in the timeline since Detective Conan rarely showed specific dates.

"You've made quite a few appearances ever since you transferred here. It seems you either have a talent of coming upon crime scenes or that you are an aspiring detective."

"A bit of both," I admitted. Dead bodies didn't turn up every time I left the apartment complex, but I _did_ stumble across crime scenes more than I would have liked. It was as though I have already contracted the Heisei Holmes disease, and I still haven't met Conan/Shinichi yet. Well, at least the mystery novels I read weren't for naught.

"I am curious; why would an aspiring detective want to see Kid disappear instead of behind bars?"

"I am afraid I cannot tell you, nor is it my place to tell you." I leaned against the wall. "However, if I meet Kid, I'll try to convince him to trust you a bit more. It's really up to him whether to involve you or not. But once you're in, you can't get out. Not easily, in any case."

"I suppose it's safe to say that you are an ally of his, then?" He seemed calm, but he certainly wasn't. I wonder if it was because he is angry at Kaito-senpai for jumping in dangerous situations or at me for not doing anything about it.

"I have not contacted Kid for a long time, Hakuba-senpai." Not ever since I enrolled in Ekoda High, really, but now that we have "become" friends, I should pay the Kuroba residence a visit soon. "Heists are his field of expertise and I don't interfere with them as long as he escapes the police and returns home safely."

"I see," the detective replied thoughtfully. "Very well then, I have a proposal for you, Satou-san."

"I suppose it is connected to the reason why you've been observing me during those cases?" I crossed my arms. "Just what are you planning, Meitantei Hakuba Saguru?"

oOOo

"Eh?! Hakuba's assistant?!" Kaito-senpai exclaimed once I finished my tale. "Majika yo?"

"Well, he did have a set of conditions such as notifying him whenever I end up with a case and accompanying him during some investigations," I replied. "He also told me to make sure that, if you return from your night job, you are in one piece."

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant!" the Nidaime Kaitou Kid protested. "Why the hell did Hakuba suggest that in the first place?"

"Apparently, I am a rising star in the detective world?" He did say that I showed potential and that I was one of his links to Kid… "He knows that I won't interfere with Kid heists… much. After all, when it comes down to it, I won't have you arrested by the police. But that doesn't mean that I mind seeing you struggle trying to get away from him, nor does it mean he can't have me running around the city solving cases for him…"

"Why did you accept?"

I thought about it. When I accepted, it was more of a spur of the moment thing, but it wasn't without reasons either.

"The more cases I solve, the more likely I am to stumble across a case that involves _them_." Just like what Conan is doing by staying with Mouri Kogorou. "This way… Maybe, just maybe, I can actually _do_ something this time around."

Yes, I thought back to my powerlessness during our most recent operation and all of those other times, like when my family broke apart. If I can do something here, maybe it will help all of us in the end. Somehow, some way. Just maybe. Just maybe.

* * *

**Okay, so maybe Hakuba wouldn't ask a classmate with good deductive abilities to become his assistant/partner. It's not like he had one in canon, so it cannot be determined. **

**Also, some of you may have noticed the small Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles references here and there. It isn't too important now, but in the future... maybe.**

**As for Helena and Lea, for those of you who went through the list of my published stories, yes, they are the ones who ended up in Harry Potter verse. I'm going to be rewriting that fic, eventually, or simply abandon it. They don't have much influence on this story though, except in Haruka's flashbacks.**

**I do not believe that there are any other points to address, but please review if you have anything you would like to say.**

**Next Chapter: The Red Tear: Confrontation!**


	5. The Red Tear: Confrontation!

**Hello everyone! I'm so sorry I forgot to post this chapter! **

**For those who don't know, this is from the Magic Kaito timeline. I know that it's a heist that happened before the Kaito/Shinichi confrontation, but this is a fanfiction, so...**

**For Magic Kaito events, I'll mostly follow the episodes since some heists only last twenty pages. They'll also be a bit scattered here and there. Oh, and Spider doesn't exist in this fanfiction.**

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

**_Chapter Four - The Red Tear: Confrontation!_**

* * *

"Kaitou KID has once again proclaimed a challenge! His aim is the world's greatest Ruby owned by the Hopper magician troop," Kaito-senpai read the article on the phone confidently.

"Even though he keeps failing, that petty thief hasn't learned his lesson," Aoko-senpai sighed as she looked over his shoulder.

"I suppose we should at least commend his persistence then," I declared as I went through the newspaper. It seems that Conan has made contact with the now deceased Tequila… The Holmes Freak Murder Case should be occurring soon enough… That will be my cue.

"You'd be better off quitting," Akako-senpai commented as she approached us.

"Quitting what, Akako-chan?" Aoko-senpai asked curiously.

"I'm talking to Kaitou KID," she smirked, arms crossed.

"You're talking about the legend surrounding the ruby, aren't you?" I guessed as I folded the papers. "Something about being the devil's stone and those who try to get their hands on it will bring misfortune upon themselves, right? It's not like Kaitou Kid will be able to hear your message."

"You mean the Red Tear?" Saguru-senpai asked from his seat.

"Hakuba-kun?"

"That's right," Akako-senpai flipped her long reddish hair. "Well, if Kid wants it that badly, then it's inevitable."

"Either way, I'm not interested," the detective replied as he continued reading his foreign magazine.

"Hey, what's with you?" the Scarlet Witch asked, snubbed that he wasn't paying attention to her.

"Nothing much," Saguru-senpai replied before blushing when he had a good look at Akako-senpai. Well, at least he knows to resist her power somewhat…

"Hakuba-kun, your face turned red!" Aoko-senpai pointed.

The half-British teenager turned away. "It has not!"

Akako-senpai laughed snobbishly in response, glad that she still had that effect on boys.

"Still stuck on that case, Saguru-senpai?" I asked with a sigh. "I suppose you wouldn't be able to attend KID's heist tomorrow then."

"Unfortunately," he confirmed before continuing to read his magazine.

oOOo

"You're cancelling the heist?" I repeated as I began serving dinner.

"Yeah, this heist has no meaning since I know that jewel doesn't have it," Kaito-senpai shrugged.

"Oh?" asked Hinata-nee-san. "How so?"

"Oh, just that my old man told me the magic in the Red Tear was made for a certain someone by the Magician of Fire," he summarized.

"That doesn't mean the Organization will see it that way," I reminded him. "They'll probably think that you just had something else going on and couldn't go through with the heist yet. That doesn't mean they won't try to take the jewel for themselves."

"Haruka-chan is right," Hinata-nee-san agreed. "They'll only see this as a chance to have an advantage over you."

"Don't worry about," he smirked. "I've already begun preparing something with Jii-chan just in case."

"I'll lend a hand if you need it," I declared.

"Eh? Weren't you supposed to _not_ help me? I thought that's what you and Hakuba had agreed on."

"Only heists," I reminded the part-time thief. "But if it's to foil the Organization's plans, you can definitely count me in."

The boy grinned mischievously. "Good. I know just what you can do…"

oOOo

"The police announced that Kaitou KID canceled his heist yesterday evening," a news reporter declared. "Is KID going to declare his retirement soon?"

I held back a few giggles at the look on Kaito-senpai's face. For an adept user of the famed Poker Face, he sure shows his emotions easily.

"Kaito! Haruka! Did you see?!" Aoko-senpai pointed at the big screen. "They've been showing this on the news since this morning! I'm sure he got scared of my dad. He's just a coward."

I stifled another giggle as Kaito-senpai frowned. They were quite a cute couple if I say so myself.

"Let's go," he said as he turned away.

"Hey, wait up!" she called out.

"Jody Hopper-san, leader of the group in possession of the ruby, «Hopper's Magic», commented that «It's a shame I won't be able to see his magic.»"

On our way to the theater, Aoko-senpai kept talking about the show she's been watching for a long time. Though we shared different interests, she always made me feel welcome and often dragged me along on outings with her and Kaito-senpai. It's nice of her, but more often than not, I feel like the third wheel…

"And then, she said…"

Aoko-senpai was suddenly jostled by a passing man. His movements were so fast I almost couldn't see it, but having witnessed many of Kaito-senpai's tricks, at school and at home, it was easy to guess what happened.

Kaito-senpai noticed it too, and began running after the man who bumped into a foreign woman. Her movements were also fast and fluid and had I not read Magic Kaito, I would have never known that she had just retrieved the wallet from the pickpocket.

"Hey, what just got into you, Kaito?" Aoko-senpai asked as Kaito-senpai stopped chasing after the man who was still running away.

"Here, isn't this your wallet?" the blonde woman returned the wallet to Aoko-senpai.

"Huh?" she looked inside her bag. "Oh no, when did I drop it? Sumimasen! Arigatou for returning this!"

"Her movements' speed reminds me of yours, Kaito-senpai," I commented as Kaito walked back towards us.

"It's all right," the woman took off her sunglasses. "Honestly, even though I had heard the Japanese were peaceful idiots, for this to happen…"

"You, could it be that you're the head of the Hopper Magician Troop?" Aoko-senpai asked with awe.

"Yes, my name is Jody Hopper."

"Look, Kaito, Haruka-chan! Pictures of her have been all over the newspapers and TV since this morning!" she told us brightly.

"I know," Kaito-senpai replied. "Her grandfather, James Hopper or the "Magician of Fire", was one of the greatest magicians."

"To be precise, he was the greatest magician in England," I added.

"Ah, did you know?" Aoko-senpai asked Jody-san. "His dad was Kuroba Touichi, the number one magician in Japan!"

"Oh, I know him," Jody-san's blue eyes sparkled with recognition. "He was the Orient magic user we admired, the owner of the world's greatest magical hands… But in the end, neither he nor my grandfather was any different from that pickpocket. They were just cunning frauds who fool people's eyes and rob their money."

"People's eyes are disillusioned when money blows away," I repeated her quote from the manga. "Only the sneaky swindler remains."

"Of course, those who've been fooled are also at fault," she admitted as she put on her glasses.

"B-But aren't you a magician?" Aoko-senpai asked.

"I only reluctantly continued on these two years since my grandfather died…" Jody-san declared. "But tonight is the end of that."

"Eh?"

"In other words, tonight's show will be the last of the «Hopper's Magic»," I guessed. "After this, the members will be disbanded."

"That's right…" Jody-san fished out three tickets from her pockets. "If you'd like to, you can come and see it!"

"Are you sure?" Aoko-senpai asked as the woman walked away.

"That's if you want to be deceived by us frauds."

As she walked away, I noticed the black car parked in front of us. From one of the windows, Snake was looking at Jody-san with calculating eyes, most likely cooking up a plan to get the jewel.

"Oh no!" Aoko-senpai grabbed both Kaito-senpai and I. "We're going to miss the movie!"

oOOo

"Say, what should we do?" I asked Kaito-senpai as we walked back from the theater. "Will I be attending the dinner show at Minato Hotel? Or should I help you with something else instead? Since you said that you refused to watch a show by someone who mocks magicians, you definitely have something else planned."

"Knowing _them_, Kaitou KID will make a ruckus at the show," he smirked. "But of course, they won't expect the real one to be there as well."

"If I join you on your little escapade, I request a black wig," I told him.

"Good point, your hair color is much too eye-catching," he agreed. "Well, if you could join me, that would be nice, but…"

"Then I'll stay with Aoko-senpai?" I guessed.

"I'll pass you a communicator though, so you know what's going on. I'm also counting on you to catch as many guys as possible," he added.

"I'll do what I can."

oOOo

I heard tire screeches and tumbling noises through the communicator. _When Kaito-senpai does something, he doesn't do them half way does he… The sound quality is very good._ I smiled as I joined Aoko-senpai and Nakamori-keibu at their table.

"There's even a restaurant on the rooftop," Kaito-senpai said from Jii's car. "And a revolving one at that. And so, the dinner show is on the 5th floor."

"Don't be unreasonable, bocchama," Jii said as he continued to drive recklessly.

"I know…"

Suddenly, tumbling sounds were heard as the car made a few reckless turns.

"Who's being unreasonable here?!" Kaito-senpai yelled. "AAAHHHHH!"

I smiled, keeping my Poker Face in place so that the others wouldn't suspect anything. Oh Jii…

"Aren't you excited?" Aoko-senpai asked me.

"Yup!" I chirped. "I've only seen Kaito-senpai in action, so this will be quite the change, won't it?"

I continued to converse with Aoko-senpai, distracting her from her anger at Kaito-senpai's absence. From the corner of my eye, I saw Snake and his cronies, as well the the few officers disguised as civilians scattered in the room.

oOOo

I tried to concentrate on the things I heard from the communicator as I watched the show, which wasn't exactly easy. Paul-san's number should be up soon… So Kaito-senpai's plan should be almost all set.

"Hey, Otou-san, look!" Aoko-senpai pointed towards a table which was nearer to the stage. "That's the leader of the troop, Jody Hopper!"

"So I guess the jewel she's wearing is the Red Tear?" Nakamori-keibu asked.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I smiled at the thought of the _true_ magic within the jewel. "Even though it's a ruby, it's shining blue!"

"Hey!" Nakamori-keibu called out to an old man walking pass us. "Is she always wearing that jewel?"

"Yes," the old man confirmed. "That's kind of like our magic group's trademark. It was inherited from Master James, our original leader. During the show, it must be worn by the leader."

"Ano…" Aoko-senpai pointed towards the schedule she held. "Jody-san's part isn't in the program."

"That's because ever since she lost her parents in an accident 10 years ago…"

"Accident?" Nakamori-keibu asked, probably due to the familiarity of the situation.

"Yes," the old man nodded. "It was in the middle of a show. And that happened to be the big day when her parents inherited the jewel as the new leaders… She hasn't performed any magic since then. She probably loathes the magic that took he parents' lives. Master James grieved that until the day he died."

"Jody-san… If she really loved magic before, then it will eventually resurface," I declared. "Perhaps, even tonight, she will finally be able to allow herself to embrace what she once loved."

oOOo

Once Paul's number was over, I was on my guard and ready to act. It's going to begin soon…

"Now, we've come at last to the finale of the show!" a young man announced. "And the magic to decorate our last show is…?!"

Lights shone a bit everywhere, making the audience anticipate the finale even more. But then, as the lights shone on the final performer, gas began to seep out and a man chuckled as he appeared before all under the disguise of Kaitou KID.

"Why don't you leave the finale to me?!"

As the fake KID ran away from the stage, all of the officers followed after. The smoke propagated in the room, making all of the guests flee. Amidst the confusion, I went into the smoke and backstage, where I knew Snake will strike. On the way, I took off my glasses, hairband and headband as well as my small coat and put them in my bag.

"Leader!" I heard Kaito-senpai call out in Paul's voice. "Are you alright?"

"Paul… Yes," came the muffled reply.

Then, there was a high-pitched scream. I quickly joined the troop members, fearing for the worse.

"Please run, ojou-sama!" yelled the old man from earlier.

"Rest assured," came Snake's voice. "We haven't killed anyone yet."

There was the sound of a click.

"I'm going to count to three," he continued. "If you don't want to get hurt then give me that jewel."

"You mustn't!" the old man protested. "Milady, that jewel is…"

"One…"

"Robert!"

"Two…"

"Three!"

The shot was heard. Honestly, Kaito-senpai's been shot by gun way too many times…

"Paul!"

"What a moron!" Snake declared. "Now, milady, haven't you had enough already? Hand it over."

I had been able to get behind the group of killers without attracting any attention, but I must wait for Kaito-senpai's signal before doing anything. Not that I _can _do anything just yet.

"You can have it! This cursed jewel!"

I grabbed the pipe in my hands tightly, awaiting a sign.

"What?!"

"We can't hand that over to them, milady," Paul's voice could be heard thorough the corridor.

"Paul?! Y-You…"

"Yes, I'm alright," Kaito-senpai replied. "I'm wearing a bulletproof vest."

"Eh?! Why would you wear such a thing?!" Jody-san asked, completely confused.

Kaito-senpai, no, KID laughed. "That's because I am… Kaitou KID!"

"Kisama…" Snake cursed.

"But, Kaitou KID just…"

"That was probably a decoy that they set up in order to drive the police out of here," KID explained.

"But didn't you come to steal that jewel too?!" Snake asked.

"I didn't come to steal it," KID replied before adding to Jody-san: "I came to protect it, along with you."

Just then, he threw down a smoke bomb, giving me the chance I needed. Though I wasn't a martial artist, I have been practicing to wield a staff for this. I quickly knocked out the three killers nearest to me before ducking under the smoke and putting the pipe aside, pretending that I was a member of the troop.

"What? A sneak attack?!" Snake exclaimed. "That KID… Find them!"

"Yes!" the remaining standing men complied.

Thankfully, I managed to get the other two remaining men, leaving Snake and the fake KID for Kaitou KID to take care of. Once my part was over, I began helping the troop members up and tied the five men with thick rope.

"Arigatou," the old man told me as I finished the last knot.

"It's nothing. You shouldn't worry about your leader by the way, Kaitou KID may be a thief, but he never lets anyone get hurt. Well, except for the people who did this to you."

"But the Red Tear…"

"It's fine," I smiled before looking towards the ceiling. "Kaitou KID should know about the truth of the jewel, since he came here to protect it."

"Despite being a criminal, Kaitou KID is a nice person, isn't he?" a woman asked.

"He's an excellent magician as well," another man added.

"I'm sure he'd appreciate these compliments if he heard them," I told them.

"What is your relationship with Kaitou KID?" Robert-san asked me.

"Nothing in particular. Allies against these people, I suppose," I gestured towards the unconscious men. "But please keep this a secret, especially from the police."

They easily agreed to do so before one of the troop members called the police to arrest the men in our custody.

oOOo

"That trick with the revolving restaurant… What a shame I couldn't see it in person," I sulked as we returned home. "The Red Tear too… It must have been a magnificent sight."

"It sure was," he folded his arms behind his head.

"You've won the battle, but there's still the war," I reminded him.

"So, what happened to the men you caught?" Kaito-senpai asked me.

"As expected of them, they were able to get away," I told him. "However, since I struck at the back of their heads, they don't know who attacked them. I sneaked away before the police came, and the troop members promised to keep our relationship with the Organisation a secret."

"Is that so? That's good to know."

"The show will continue to go on," I declared as I looked at the moon. "At least until the crows are no longer."

"Crows, huh?" Kaito-senpai smirked.

"There should be some leftovers at home. Since I don't think you've been able to eat dinner, why don't you come over again?" I suggested.

"Thank you! You know that I love Hinata-san's curry!"

* * *

**Thank you, Delin Nobody, suntan140 wolfzero7 and crossoversfangirl1 for favoriting and/ or following this fic. 6 favorites and 4 followers after 6 chapters! I'm very happy!**

**I usually won't give definitions for things the characters will say in Japanese or in French. I'll probably add a translation at the end I suppose...**

**Please continue to support A Second Chance!**

**Next Chapter: Sherlockian Case: The First Meeting!**


	6. Sherlockian Case: The First Meeting

**Sherlock Holmes case part 1 of 3! This will be my first case, so please go easy on me!**

**Before I do the disclaimer, I would like you all to note that I will deviate from the timeline sometimes due to season problems. I won't be writing down every single case, so the transitions between seasons wouldn't be so apparent. Since it would make no sense for a case in winter to be followed by one in summer, I'll sometimes switch the cases, but not those of the main plotline. Speaking of which, I'm only following the manga version of the series.**

**I do not own anything in this story except for its main plot, my OCs and other events not in canon (manga, anime or movie).**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

**_Chapter Five - Sherlockian Case: The First Meeting_**

* * *

**_Dring-dring! Dring-dring!_**

"Moshi moshi?" I picked up the phone. "Konnichiwa, Saguru-senpai. Do we have another case?"

I've been working alongside Hakuba Saguru as a detective for two months now. After solving case after case together, he has begun to trust me to solve cases on my own without making mistakes. That gave him more time to ponder on Kaitou Kid. I can't say that we are friends just yet, but we're certainly partners and I've had the honor of visiting his home – even if it was only for business. He would be an excellent ally in the battle against the Black Organization, but it might be best to let him meet Conan first.

Due to my insistence, not only does he refer to me by my name, but I ended up doing the same. It was a bit strange at first – he had always been "Hakuba" for me – but we got used to it.

"There is another case, but you won't be coming," he replied. "Tell me, Haruka-chan, do you remember the Sherlock Holmes contest?"

"I do. You were talking about it for days on end." As his assistant, I had a front row seat to his ramblings about Sherlock Holmes. Though I liked Arthur Conan Doyle's work very much, too much is still too much. Of course, that wasn't the only reason why I remembered the contest and certainly not why I participated as well.

"I have won." Obviously. "But my case requires my immediate attention, so I won't be able to go. Will you be able to survive the trip without me?"

"Certainly," that is, if I wasn't killed during it. "It's a shame you couldn't come though."

"My father insisted on me participating in the investigation after all," I heard him sigh. "Please do not forget to call me afterwards."

"I'll try. I'm sorry, but I'll have to head to the meeting place now or I'll be late."

"Good luck."

"I'd say the same, but you don't need luck, do you?"

With a chuckle, he hung up.

oOOo

Luckily, I got there in a nick of time. After apologizing profusely, I sat in the back of the van, trying to catch my breath. I cursed Saguru-senpai for calling right before I left the apartment. I must have forgotten something in my hurry to leave, I just know it.

"Hey, lil' girl, whatcha doin' here?"

I turned around, only to see the Meitantei of the West, Hattori Heiji, grinning at me. It seems that I ended up in van number two, the same as the future culprit and victims… At this point, I don't know whether I should be glad or upset. On the upside, I get to be acquaintance with Hattori, on the downside… Never mind.

"I won the Sherlock Holmes contest!" I replied happily. "Though I haven't finished reading all the books, the series is very interesting so far, so I thought I'd try it out."

"Is that so? I'm Hattori Heiji, detective of the West."

"Satou Haruka, detective."

"That's impressive, Haruka-chan, but ain't ya a bit young ta be a detective?"

"I'm thirteen years old, Heiji-senpai, and I've already solved over twenty cases since I became Saguru-senpai's assistant," I told him. "He is also a detective, but he's more well-known overseas."

"What kind of cases does he excel in?" The Osakan seemed to try to humor me.

"Murders. Just like you and the Meitantei of the East, Kudou Shinichi."

"So ya know about Kudou too, eh?" Heiji-senpai grinned. "But between ya and me, I'm tha best between us!"

And that was how I became the friend of one Hattori Heiji who spent the whole trip talking about the greatness of his hometown, Osaka. He mostly started after I told him that I just moved to Japan though and he wouldn't stop. I liked his character, but he's honestly more goofy than Kudou though less than Kaito-senpai. And all three of them can ramble on and on about their favorite subjects. At least Saguru-senpai knew how to control himself, but even then… I suppose I should be glad that I share some interests with them, or else I'd be wondering whether it would be my "allies" or the Black Organization who will kill me first.

Well, if anything, a conversation with Heiji-senpai was enough to keep me too occupied to think about the murder case that was going to occur the next day. At least, until we arrived at our destination.

oOOo

We arrived at the Mycroft villa within two hours, shortly before van one. Before I could get inside the house, however, a plump lady – the medium – pulled me aside to share a few words. I remember wondering whether she really had powers or not, and now that I've met her, I'm more inclined towards the former.

"Little girl, you are not who you seem to be, aren't you?" Toda Maria asked me after reading my palm.

"But isn't that the cases for everyone?" I pretended to shrug it off. "Especially celebrities and politicians. Everyone has things to hide."

"You've caused great changes by coming here," she added.

I inwardly gulped. That was a bit too close for comfort.

"Err… I guess?"

Koizumi-senpai had told me the exact same thing when she invited me to her mansion in the forest. She added that with logic already cracking, worlds connected by the tunnel may combine or something along those lines. And since sending me back will only strengthen the tunnel – why it hasn't disappeared is beyond me – I am pretty much stranded in a universe I read about in my free time. To be honest, I wonder if it has sunk in yet. Considering how long it took for me to accept that I _am_ here in the first place, probably not.

"Beware of the crows."

"…Thank you?" I replied nervously. "Ano… I'll be inside if you need me… so yeah…"

Really intelligent, Candice. Good job.

"Oi, Haruka-chan, anythin' wrong?" Heiji-senpai asked me once I got inside.

"No, nothing," I reassured him. "I just realized what exactly I forgot to bring."

Before the Osakan detective could inquire upon the details, the driver of van two, a plump man with small stature dressed as Holmes, began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, first I want to thank you for coming to my vacation home, "Mycroft"," Kanaya Hiroyuki declared. "I organized this trip and I am also the vacation home's owner. Everyone here is a Sherlock Holmes' fan and chosen scrupulously by my care…"

I shoot a look at the teenager beside me then the man I knew to be Detective Mouri. I can see three people who aren't Sherlock Holmes' fans…

"Welcome, you are at home here…"

"Are you sure that you chose carefully?" Fujisawa Toshiaki, a train station employee, 47 of age, asked snidely as he looked towards the detective. "There's a person here who hardly knows how to spell "Holmes"…"

"Ah? Really?" the medium exclaimed.

"It's that man with the mustache…" pointed Kawatsu Ikuo, a twenty-five-year-old physical education teacher.

"I think I'll go home…" Mouri-san said, quite irritated.

"Please wait…" the owner pulled the detective back. "If I chose this person… It's quite simply because this man is a detective, a modern day Sherlock Holmes."

**_Biiip!_** Wrong person.

"You're Mouri Kogorou, aren't you?" asked Togano Kento, 22 years old, student and president of "Analysis and Mysteries" club. If his expression in the manga was smug then his expression in real life is even more so.

"Eh?"

"I recognize you and I've seen you on television and in the newspapers many times!" he added. "I'm sure that you're very smart, but honestly, I believe we're as intelligent as you are capable to solve those cases…"

Actually, as much as I hate to admit it, he has a point. In fact, he might be even more capable than Mouri-tantei. Do note that I haven't said anything about Sleeping Kogorou.

"He's… no match for Holmes!" declared Oki Ayako, also 22, a member of the same club and Togano-san's girlfriend. I don't like her. I cannot say I ever did

"They have to talk…" I could _see_ the anger radiating off the man. Honestly, his short temper is one of his worst qualities.

"Stay calm!" Conan tried to appease him. "It's normal with Holmes as an adversary…"

"DON'T TALK NONSENSE!" the detective yelled. Such a great example for children… "IF YOU THINK THAT I WOULD LOSE AGAINST SOME STORYBOOK CHARACTER!"

Cue the collective glare…

"Pff… What a stupid idea, making us take part in such a trip!" Mouri-tantei hit Conan's head. Honestly, I'm surprised that he didn't become stupid after all of the times he was hit…

"Conan!" Ran cried out worriedly.

"Conan?"

"Sherlock Holmes' fanatics indeed…" I sighed as the group crowded around Conan.

"Aren't ya one too?"

"Heiji-senpai, if I were as much as them, I'd be all over the boy by now," I remarked drily.

"What about that friend of yours?"

"He usually dressed up just like Holmes on his cases."

"Sokka…"

"…However, that person likes Holmes too," Ran commented.

"That person?"

"You didn't forget, did you?" she asked her father. "That confident, show-off, mystery otaku…"

"He's got good points too, ya know," Heiji-senpai added. "A maniac of Holmes' mysteries… Better in soccer than in music… He even won against me and escaped suddenly… Yer talking about Kudou Shinichi, aren't ya?"

"Hattori?" Ran exclaimed.

"Eh?" Conan turned around too.

"Ah, so you're a Holmes' fan too?" the girl asked excitedly.

"Chao, chao! I came here because I thought I'd find Kudou here!"

"Don't tell the others," I whispered, "but Heiji-senpai here is more of an Ellery Queen fan."

"Eh? And you are…"

"Satou Haruka, tantei sa." I saluted.

"A detective too, but you're…" Ran looked at me carefully. "Aren't you a bit young?"

"I am a thirteen-year-old high school detective," I clarified. "I've only been in the business for two months though."

"So you are a genius, huh?" the karate champion commented. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Mouri Ran, this man here is my father, Mouri Kogorou and the child is Edogawa Conan."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," I bowed.

"Since everyone is gathered, I will explain to you how things will go during the stay!" the owner said as he clapped his hands. "It's already late so we will first rest. Tomorrow, breakfast is at 9 AM, lunch at 11 AM, and dinner at 10 PM… It's after dinner that I'll give you, as usual, difficult mysteries to solve… The one who succeeds in solving the mysteries… will gain the first edition of "A Study in Scarlet"! The work which made sir Conan Doyle famous!"

"Wow!"

"But before that, it will be necessary to prove to me that you are real Holmes fans!"

"Prove?" asked Oki Ayako-san.

"Miss Iwai is distributing the questionnaire with 1000 questions about Holmes!"

"1000 questions?!" the medium exclaimed as she received her copy.

"You have until dinner tomorrow to answer them all and give them to me!" the owner announced. "Only people who have at least 900 correct answers will be able to take part in the rest of the game after dinner."

"And if we can't answer 900 questions?" asked the train station employee.

"You guessed it…" the owner chuckled evilly. "You will have to leave the house immediately! Because there are no places for amateurs here!"

"OOH!"

"Entrust your mobile and books about Holmes to Iwai-san! We need to avoid any cheating!"

Iwai-san walked amongst us and confiscated our phones. When she got to us, Heiji gave his mobile as did Ran, but I just shook my head.

"Aren't ya goin' to give yer phone?"

"Remember when I said that I realized what exactly I had forgotten?" I asked Heiji-senpai as the owner talked about the cameras and microphones. "It was my mobile."

"Tough luck, heh?"

I thought to the scene where everyone found out that their phones were destroyed.

"Yup, tough luck indeed…"

oOOo

The next day passed faster than I had expected. Though there was not much to do other than the questionnaire and homework, it wasn't as boring as I expected. I got along with Heiji-senpai well enough, so we kept each other company from late afternoon to dinner. All of the guests were chatting happily during the meal, waiting for the owner to grade the test.

"It was delicious…" Mouri-tantei patted his stomach with satisfaction as Iwai-san served some tea.

"Kanaya-san didn't come back yet," Fujisawa-san commented as he looked towards the clock. It was 9: 23 PM.

"Tell him to come back please!" Ayako-san showed her test. "I want him to grade my questionnaire!"

"But... He asked me to take care of you until dinner," Iwai-san protested. "He told me that he'll be back afterwards…"

"In my opinion, he's planning a surprise!" declared Kawatsu-san.

"I think so too!" the medium agreed.

I shot a look towards Heiji-senpai who seemed bored out of his mind. I know that I'm not Kudou, but I am feeling a bit insulted…

We all continued to wait patiently for over two and half hours, but Kanaya-san still hasn't made his appearance. Everyone will have to wait until six hours after the end of dinner before they discover that he has been murdered. Well, some people aren't so patient to stay awake for another three hours though.

"AH! Enough of it!" Fujiwara-san slammed his hands on the table. "I'm returning to my bedroom! I wasted my whole day doing this questionnaire!"

"Sir…" Iwai-san tried to protest as he ripped apart the stack of papers.

"So perhaps it's true…" the medium agreed. "…that he never intended to offer his first edition! He'll void our answers and nobody will be the winner! What he wants to do is to show-off his book!"

She left and followed Fujiwara-san out of the dining room. "But if he didn't come for the last mystery… I'm going to sleep…"

"Yes, me too…" Kawatsu-san left as well as the always silent Shimizu Nanako.

"Will ya go ta sleep too?" Heiji-senpai asked as the Mouri family debated on whether to leave or not.

"I think I'll stay," I smiled. "I've stayed up far longer than this before and I took a long nap after lunch so I should be fine."

I _was_ fine too, until I got a couple of bruises from trying to stop the car from going over the cliff. At least I didn't fall with the car. If it weren't for Heiji-senpai pulling me back…

_Flashback_

_"Ahou, what tha hell were ya thinkin'?" _

_"I was _trying_ to help!"_

_"Ya could'va died, ya know!"_

_"I can't help it if the car suddenly accelerated!"_

_"Hey, what's going on over there?!" shouted Fujiwara-san._

_"Are any of you hurt?" Ran asked._

_End Flashback_

"WHAT?! KANAYA-SAN IS DEAD?!"

"Yes…" Heiji-senpai confirmed as he looked towards the pillar of smoke caused by the explosion. "In front of us in his Sherlock Holmes costume, he just drove into the sea…"

"But why would he…?" Iwai-san began to cry.

"It's suicide, that's all," yawned Mouri-tantei. "Giving away that book was too hard for him… Thus, he died with the book…"

"I'd rather support a criminal hypothesis," Togano-san declared.

"Huh?"

"Kento…" Ayako-san's eyes seemed suspicious.

"The car went very slowly," he began. "Someone could've just given him sleeping pills or killed him before putting him in the car. It would suffice to start the car at a certain speed and then it'll go by itself… The murderer could've acted in the garage…"

"Of course, the culprit acted surprised and ran over here after hearing the explosion…" Fujiwara-san caught on.

"So the culprit is one of us?" asked the medium.

"Yes, most likely…" Togano-san said arrogantly.

"It doesn't make much sense though," I told him irritably. "The car suddenly accelerated after all." And I, who almost got pushed off because of that, would know better than anyone. "So your theory doesn't stand."

"Oh, come on, it's a suicide! A suicide!" Mouri-tantei declared. "You've been reading too many detective novels!"

"But something has been bugging me…" Heiji-senpai told us. "There was a strange sound coming from the car… As if there were wind in it… and it wasn't the sound of the engine!"

"It was surely the air-conditioning!" Kawatsu-san suggested. "It probably switched on when he turned on the engine!"

"Yes…" Touda-san agreed. "It was quite hot these days and he turned it on when we were in the car!"

"Whatever it was, making his suicide look like a murder…" Fujiwara-san sighed as he light on a cigarette. "Really, wearing a Sherlock Holmes costume too…"

"It's really sad…" Shimizu-san agree. "Such a nice costume…"

"Eh?"

I couldn't help the face-palm. Honestly… Though it would be nice to see Saguru-senpai's fans' reaction to this if he had been the victim…. Kidding.

"In any case, it's useless to try to fish out the body!" Mouri-tantei told us. "All that's left to do is call the police and wait!"

All that's left to do is call the police and wait? I bent down and inspected the tire marks. For a renowned detective, even if only by name, he sure is slow… Well, he _is_ the Sleeping Kogorou… There's not much that I can expect of him in the first place.

**_Bam!_**

"Aye, aye," Conan rubbed his head.

"Awww!"

"You, too, are you looking for something?" Ran asked the two detectives.

"Yes and no! I just wanted to know if the air-conditioning was really on!" Heiji-senpai then pointed towards Conan. "But this brat was in my way again…"

And so he realizes that Conan isn't just _any_ brat… Well, since it's only the second time they've met, he's actually quite observant. Though the way he discovered that other thing was partly thanks to luck, so I can't say that he has an advantage over Saguru-senpai who noticed Conan's intelligence early on, during their first meeting. I'm getting ahead of myself though, I thought as I noticed Ayako using her lighter to give us some light.

"And now? Is it better, little detectives?"

"Arigatou!" chirped Conan.

"That's very kind of you!" Heiji-senpai received the lighter.

"Domo," I nodded before continuing to look for the drops that I knew I would never find.

* * *

**That was part one. There isn't much to say about this chapter, except that I am very uncertain on how to write Heiji's Kansai dialect. Oh well, I tried.**

**Please look forward to parts 2 and 3!**

**Follow favorite and review!**

**And don't forget a hug from Conan-chan!**

**Next Chapter: Sherlockian Case: A Second Murder**


	7. Sherlockian Case: The Second Murder

**Sorry for the long wait, ladies and gentlemen, but chapter five, also known as the second installment of the Sherlockian Case - is finally here!**

**I hope that you will all enjoy the show!**

**Before continuing, I would like to say that there have been a few minor changes in the previous chapters. I would also like to thank Kind blue and Mullkkkkkk for favoriting and following this story. I am also grateful to DragonAce1999 for following "A Second Chance".**

**I apologize for grammatical errors beforehand and I do not own Detective Conan.**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

**_Chapter Six - Sherlockian Meeting: The Second Murder_**

* * *

Last time, Saguru-senpai called me to inform me that, due to a case, he was unable to attend the trip we both won in the Sherlock Holmes contest. On the van that brought me to the vacation house "Mycroft", I met Hattori Heiji-senpai with whom I hit off better than expected. However, as expected, a murder occurred on the third day on the trip. And now, Heiji-senpai, Conan and I are investigating the matter.

The first thing we wanted to do was contact the police, however…

"What…?!"

"The phones are all in pieces?!" Kawatsu-san exclaimed.

"But who has?!" the medium asked, also in shock.

"And I can't find the book as well!" Iwai-san told us frantically.

"Aaargh! We'd better take the other vehicle and leave this place!" Fujiwara-san declared.

"Don't even think about it…" Heiji-senpai told him as he entered the room. "The other car's tank is pierced, there is no fuel left… Also, the battery is dead… That car is unusable!"

"Ah… No…"

"My hypothesis seems to right; it's a murder right?" asked Togano.

Of course your "hypothesis" seems to be right… I crossed my arms. I'd expose him, but I still need proof which I don't have at this moment.

"It's still not certain how the culprit managed to have the car accelerate in the end, but whoever it was cut all means of communications with the outside world," I declared. "So the person in question must have at least another target to eliminate."

"Who could've done this?" Kawatsu-san began to sweat. "Once of us?"

"Actually, didn't you badmouth him earlier…" Fujiwara-san told the medium. "You could as well be the culprit…"

"In that case, you too…"

"What?!"

"Enough!" Mouri-tantei brought back order to the group. "The culprit is amongst us and he's isolated himself, like a mouse. If we keep searching, we'll find him! Now, you're going to answer me… Who saw Kanaya-san yesterday evening after he gave his speech?"

The culprit, of course…

"Miss, I suppose you must have seen him, he must have eaten dinner, right?" Mouri asked the maid.

"A-Actually no… Kanaya-san was on a diet and he only ate low-calorie food," she informed him. "He ate dinner alone in his room."

"Damn! Not knowing what he did during the day, it's going to be hard to find out when he was killed… Also, we can't get hold of the body…"

"I know!" Kawatsu-san exclaimed. "Surveillance cameras!"

"Of course!" Fujiwara-san realized. "They must have recorded something!"

"No…" Iwai-san corrected. "Because they are all fake… They are just there to discourage cheating. We put them up every year for the contest…"

"Fake?" repeated Mouri-tantei. "He really was a cheapsake…"

"Though we know a few things. It was at about 3:30 in the morning that the car started to move!" Heiji-senpai stated. "And we know where some of us were at that time, in the living room! That takes six people off the suspects' list, right?"

"So you're saying that one of us that wasn't in the living room at the time is guilty?" Fujiwara-san asked.

"Well, until we are more certain about the time frame of death, yes," I replied.

"Say, did you find what you were looking for a while ago?" Ayako-san asked Heiji-senpai.

"No…"

"All right… Pff…" Just like that, the university student laughed out loud.

"Ayako?" Togano-san asked fearfully.

"How funny… I know…" she lit a cigarette. "I know how the murderer is and how he did it… I even have irrefutable proof."

"Eh?"

"What are you saying?!"

"I'll give you ten minutes to figure it out," Ayako-san decided. "If the culprit doesn't want me to reveal who he is, he shall do it himself!"

"Er… Ayako, where are you going?" Togano-san asked his girlfriend nervously.

"To the toilet!"

"I'll go with her," I told everyone. "With everything that's been going on, I haven't had the chance to, so…"

I closed the room's door behind me once we left the group, stopping Togano-san from following us. We walked in silence until we reached the bathroom.

"So, why did you stop my boyfriend from following me?" Ayako-san asked me as she opened the door.

"I think you know," was my reply. "After all, you do know who the culprit, don't you?"

"If that's the case, why haven't you said anything?"

"Unfortunately, I lack something called "evidence". Unlike a certain someone," I shrugged. "Though I do have a warning for you."

"Oh?"

"No matter how tempting, you shouldn't accept the devil's offer," I told her. "Less you want to give up your soul that is."

"Very well, I will keep that in mind," she said before closing the door.

On my way back, Togano-san was heading towards the bathroom. He told me that he just wanted to check up on us since we were taking a long time (honestly, who believed that?). Since I was already heading back, he'll go see his girlfriend. There was nothing more I can do over there. It's her decision… whether to accept the offer or not.

On the other hand, Saguru-senpai and Hinata-nee-san are going to kill me once they find out that I left my mobile of all things at home. If it had been destroyed along with the others, I would at least have an excuse… I think…

oOOo

I never understood why people could be so greedy. Both in fiction and reality, people have been lured in by sweet promises and end up dying, or worse. In the end, Ayako-san turned out to be the same. I had hoped that it wasn't the case, but… Maybe I should've been more insistent or made sure that Ayako-san remained far from the garage. I was able to save Akemi-san, so why couldn't I save her?

"BUT THEN, WHO'S THE MURDERER! WHO KILLED AYAKO?!" Togano's shouts shook me from my reverie. It wasn't like there was anything else I could do for Ayako-san except unmasking her murderer anyways…

"As if it's easy to mistake a dummy for a person…" Heiji-senpai growled as the adults and Ran returned to the lodge.

"Yes, but all the suspects were together in the room," Conan reminded him. "Although it would be hard to set a timer to light a flare at a certain hour…"

"No, they couldn't do it," the Osakan objected. "I was the last one in the garage, and I didn' see a device like that. I saw the car with a hole in the fuel tank, all the fuel spread on the floor and used up batter, in the boot was a bottle of fuel."

"So the questions we must ask ourselves are 1)," I held up a finger. "How could the fuel have been ignited? 2) Why did Ayako-san go to the garage? And 3) What did Fujiwara-san mean by «Please put out the fire soon, or the book will…»?"

"We still don' know 'bout the cause of fire, so we'll have ta keep lookin'," Heiji-senpai shrugged.

"But as for Fujiwara-san's words and Ayako's reason for going to the garage…" Conan realized.

"They may be linked, especially considering Fujiwara-san's fearful expression," I concluded.

"Well, let's head inside first," the Osakan high school detective suggested. "We can find more clues there."

oOOo

I ignored Mouri-tantei's stupid deductions as I looked outside. He only solved a few cases on his own, as far as I remembered, and only when it was of personal interest to him. Doesn't he realize that children are usually the most truthful sources of information? Though what they say may not seem connected to the case at times, it could be very important. That's why Holmes had the Baker Irregulars help him when he is in need of information.

I turned around boringly as Fujiwara-san slammed his hands on the table once again. Finally, some important information.

"LOOK AT THIS CARD!" he showed everyone. "IF I HAD TRUSTED THIS MESSAGE, I WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD!"

I took the card and read it quickly before giving it to Mouri-tantei.

_If you want to get the first edition, you'll find it under the rear seat of the car in the garage at 5 AM._

"At 5 AM? But the fire began at 4:30 AM!" Mouri Kogorou declared.

"And Ayako's body was in the rear seat of the car!" Heiji-senpai added.

"When did you get this letter?" Conan asked.

"The night before, after dinner. It was under my room's door."

Once again ignoring the commotion around me, I quickly summarized what I "knew" thus far.

1) The owner had been killed by unknown means and his murder seemed like a suicide. The car's air conditioning was not on, but there was the sound of air inside the car and there had been a cloth on the dashboard.

2) Ayako-san saw something that helped her identify the criminal during lunch when she attempted to cheat. Her boyfriend claimed that he was in his room the whole time and that she had not entered. However, no one can prove his words.

3) When Ayako-san died, she was burned inside the car, in the van to be precise. She was found kneeling at the rear seat of the car, where the first edition was supposed to be, according to the card Fujiwara-san received. In conclusion, she tried to get the first edition herself once the murderer informed her of its location.

4) The murderer's original targets were only the owner, Kanaya Hiroyuki-san, and Fujiwara-san. In short, there must be something that link those two people, most likely something that concerns the famous Sherlock Holmes…

I smirked, realizing that I had almost all of the puzzle pieces I needed. But before unmasking the culprit, I'll have to unmask Conan first…

Following Heiji-senpai as he pulled Ran aside, I couldn't help but feel some kind excitement. Perhaps it's anticipation for the scene where Heiji-senpai discovers everything…

"When your father is asleep, where is he?" the detective asked Ran.

"He?"

"Heiji-senpai means the little one who is always following you…"

"THIS KID!" he pulled up the boy who had been eavesdropping.

"Conan? Now that you mention it, he always vanishes," Ran recalled.

"Really?" I asked slyly as I witnessed Conan's struggle.

"But sometimes he appears from behind my father to help him…"

"From behind?" Heiji-senpai repeated.

"Ah-ah…"

"Oh, so you help him from behind, do you?" the dark-skinned teen asked sarcastically.

"It's because… I like to play detective you know?" Conan tried to hide his discomfort with a smile.

Just then, the lights were turned off.

"A power outage!" the detective exclaimed.

"Maybe it's because of the storm…" Ran said hesitantly.

"I don't think it's the storm, Ran-san," I adjusted my glasses as the maid suggested that the fuses may have gone out.

"Well, let's go repair them!" Mouri-tantei said irritably.

"Shit. Right now…" Fujiwara-san turned on his lighter.

That makes another clue, I suppose.

"Miss, you can use this lighter," he told the maid.

"Hey, sir…" Heiji-senpai began.

"Eh?"

That was when we noticed the icepick from behind him. As Conan and Heiji-senpai pushed Fujiwara-san away, I quickly stood between the assailant and was stabbed instead. An instant later, the lights were back on, a window has been broken and one of the chairs was in a slightly different position than before.

As always, Mouri-tantei was explaining how the owner managed to injure me with the intention of stabbing Fujiwara-san during the blackout, still convinced that Kanaya-san was still alive. His deduction was rubbish, though.

"Shit, why would he try to kill me?" Fujirawa-san asked as Ran began cleaning my wound. "It's true that we argued sometimes, but that's because we were both fans of Holmes. Also, it was me who helped him with his book."

"Book?" Mouri-tantei repeated.

"Yeah. Last year, the owner published a book about Holmes," Fujiwara-san told us. "It's name was «The Mockery of Irene Adler». He told me that, if I helped him, he would let me take part in the contest. But, he may want to pay me for my work this way. Anyways, I met Ayako here on this trip. Why does he treat us like this?"

"Hmm, it's very strange," Mouri-tantei declared. "Among all the participants, you're the only one who knew him in person."

"Ayako-san knew him too," the maid interjected. "Her father and the master were close friends. That's why he invited her to this contest almost every year."

"Hmm, the ones who were attacked were all linked to the owner…" he smirked. "This is getting more and more suspicious. Ran, go after the owner!"

"Yes!"

"It's too late!" I objected. "No matter how you search, you won't find anything."

"Look at this chair!" Heiji-senpai pointed. "It's out of place! The murderer used it ta break the window and left it this way!"

"That's right!" Conan noticed. "It had pieces of glass! The murderer must have used it!"

"Even so, the only thing we know is that the murderer used a chair to break the glass," Mouri-tantei pointed out.

"But if they wanted ta run away though the window, why bother ta put the chair back in its place?"

"Maybe the culprit didn't want to leave his fingerprints," I suggested. "After all, if the culprit wore gloves, it would look suspicious. Also, by breaking the window then leaving the chair like this, the culprit is trying to create the illusion that the murderer escaped from the villa. This way, the culprit could also wipe off the finger prints once the electricity came back, correct?"

"Yeah, since we were all busy with yer injury," he nodded.

"When the lights went on?" Kawatsu-san asked.

"Wait a moment," the medium added. "We're the only ones in this room…"

"That's it. Now ya know why the owner ain't the murderer," the Osakan declared. "And that same murderer is still amongst us!"

"Who's he?!" Fujiwara-san stood up. "Why'd he attack me?!"

"Ochitsuite, Fujiwara-san," Mouri-tantei told him before turning towards the maid. "Miss, you made the fuses go out, didn't you?"

"H-Hai. It happened when I tried to connect the coffee machine," she explained. "Then the lights went out. Please come to the kitchen."

As I made a move to follow, Ran-san stood in my way.

"Haruka-chan, you should stay here," she told me. "You've just been hurt and…"

"Watashi wa daijobou desu, Ran-san," I replied. "And it's my job to find clues leading to the culprit, you know."

"…Fine, but I'm watching you."

oOOo

"So we can limit the suspects to those two, since they were the only ones who could have tied the wire around the plug to create the power outage," I concluded after we investigated the kitchen. This time, the murderer has put the final nail in the coffin.

"Hohoho… Now I know…" laughed Mouri-tantei. "The murderer is Kawatsu-san! Aren't you?"

"Wait a moment! I wasn't alone!" he protested. "There were 3 more people in the kitchen!"

"Yes, but you're the only one who doesn't have an alibi! The others do have one! They were in the living room when the owner's car exploded!" Mouri-tantei shouted. "And you, hiding from the other three, used the wires from one of the boxes, put it in the socket and created the power outage! And then, when all was dark, you attacked Fujiwara-san, led by the lightning! But you couln't attack him because of the kids! Isn't that true?" he asked us smugly.

"Yeah, if we didn' push 'im and Haruka-chan didn' take tha hit, Fujiwara-han would've been killed!" Heiji-senpai confirmed. "But I still can't believe yer explanation, Mouri! And you, kid? Haruka-chan?"

"Unfortunately for Mouri-tantei, no."

"I also can't!" Conan agreed. "In the third case, the attack on Fujiwara-san is different from the others. The murderer left hints. It's like he didn't plan it…"

Noticing the silence, he looked up to see everyone staring at him with expressions ranging from shock to curiosity.

"Eh?"

"Conan…?"

"Haha, well, I'm still a child. I say silly things…" His hand went to the back of his head. "Don't pay attention to me!"

"Right! We mustn't do that," Ran-san agreed. "He's only an amateur!"

Seeing Heiji-senpai's thoughtful look, I gave him a nudge.

"Like a teenager in a child's body, wouldn't you agree?"

"Huh? Ya mean Conan?" he asked.

I nodded. "One would think that he's a shrunken Kudou Shinichi since they look so much alike."

"Nah, it can't be. No one can do that," he told me.

"We'll just have to wait and see," I shrugged. "But first, we still have a case on our hands…"

"Yeah, yer right. But I still can't find how tha first murder was committed," he admitted.

"I see…"

With the question rounds almost over, the time for accusations draws near…

oOOo

"The culprit is… Toda Maria-san, the fortune teller!" accused Mouri-tantei. "I'm sure you hypnotised the owner and made him commit suicide! And you did the same with Ayako!"

"Chigau wa. The culprit is another person."

* * *

**And the mystery grows thicker...**

**I hope that I've entertained you for the past three thousand words and that you've enjoyed the story so far.**

**Please follow, favorite or review.**

**Coming up: Sherlockian Case: The Third Accusation**


	8. Sherlockian Case: The Third Accusation

**For all of you who have been awaiting an update, well, here it is! Sorry for the possible confusion earlier, I forgot to post the "Red Tear" chapter before starting the Holmes Freak Murder Case...**

**Thank you reading and I hope you enjoy the third and final installment of the first Detective Conan case in Haruka's career!**

**I will separate most cases into two or three chapters, but from here on, it will mostly be two chapters only.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**_Chapter Seven - Sherlockian Case: The Third Accusation_**

* * *

_Last time…_

_"The culprit is… Toda Maria-san, the fortune teller!" accused Mouri-tantei. "I'm sure you hypnotised the owner and made him commit suicide! And you did the same with Ayako!"_

_"Chiagu wa," I stepped forward. "The culprit is another person."_

* * *

"Oh, and who would it be, little girl?" he asked snidely.

"The one who killed both Kanaya-san and Ayako-san, and attempted to murder Fujiwara-san moments ago can only be one person," I declared. "Toganou Kento-san, anata desu."

"Wait, wait a minute!" he protested, sweating. "I was here a long time before the owner's car began to move! And when Ayako died, I was with you…"

"Hohoho! Don't say such silly things, you amateur!" Mouri-tantei told me angrily.

"I am a novice in this field, Mouri-tantei, not an amateur," I corrected him. "Anyways, why don't I share my deduction before you start insulting me again, Mouri-tantei?"

"Tch. Fine."

"First, the culprit killed Kanaya-san shortly after we last saw him, at 10 PM on the first night," I began. "When the body was rigid enough, the culprit put the owner in the car. Like this, with the owner's foot on the brake, even if the car is started, it will remain still as the body becomes more and more rigid. Once the rigor mortis begins to wear off, the foot on the brake will begin to loosen and the car will head towards the cliff with no problems."

"What silliness!" Mouri-tantei laughed. "Rigor mortis only disappeared 40 hours after the death! That Osakan boy told us just now, don't you remember?"

"That is not the case when the temperature is above 35°C," I pointed out. "The corpse will begin to loosen between 24 to 30 hours then. As I said earlier, the owner was killed shortly after 10 PM that night and died around 3 AM this morning, 29 hours later. And since it was the heating on and not the air conditioning, it makes sense, right, Heiji-senpai?"

"Yeah, there weren't any water drops next ta tha tire tracks," he confirmed. "But there should be if tha air conditioning was on."

"But if the police found the corpse and had an autopsy, the trick would be discovered," Mouri-tantei declared.

"That's why it was necessary to have the corpse disappear into the sea! Otherwise, the corpse would have been found and examined," I explained.

"But how did the car speed up?" Toda Maria-san asked.

"Tha found is irregular and tha foot on tha brake continued ta loosen," Heiji-senpai replied. "Tha cloth on tha dashboard was probably ta cover up that tha heating was on…"

"Ah, that way it's really easy to make the car move while the murderer is still in the living room," Kawatsu-san commented.

"It's a perfect alibi!" the medium agreed.

"Then Togano wanted Ayako to stay with him to have a witness who could say that he was in the living room when the car was moving," Ran concluded.

"Only he could make an alibi that way," I confirmed.

"Haha, how interesting. You think like a mystery novel fan," Togano complimented. "It's a pity you don't have the proof for your theory. And it's raining, so forget about the air conditioning water drops! Also, when the garage burned, I was inside the house, whatever you say, there isn't anything that proves I was the one who set the garage on fire."

"You're wrong," I told him. "You only had to tell Ayako-san that the first edition was under the rear seat of the remaining van just as you had planned to lure Fujiwara-san with the note."

"The book?" repeated Kogorou. "What does the book have to do with the crime?"

"The last person to inspect the garage before Ayako-san was Heiji-senpai," I declared. "Would you mind telling him what you had found?"

"Tha car had an empty batter, and tha fuel was leakin' all over tha floor."

"So there was no way for Ayako-san to use the car lights," I concluded. "Mouri-tantei, what would you do in her place?"

"Hmm… If it's dark… I would use a lighter…" he said thoughtfully. "That's it! A lighter! Ayako used her lighter to look for the book! And set the fuel on the floor."

"She set the fire then!" the maid realized.

"That's how you kill someone without even touching them," Shimizu-san agreed.

"But if she is his alibi for the first murder, why kill her?" asked Kawatsu-san.

"He already had five more people as witnesses, so it didn't matter if one was taken off the equation. Furthermore, it was more important for him to avoid being seen as a suspect, or worse, the killer," I guessed. "That's why he killed Ayako-san, who knew both the culprit's identity and the rigor mortis trick. And so, he went after her as I returned from the toilet since that was the only time he could talk to her alone and convince her to go to the garage. When you think about it, it's strange that he would come to check on us so soon after we left for the toilet, isn't it?"

"She's right…" the teacher commented. "I did thought that it was a bit strange, but I dismissed it since he was Ayako-san's boyfriend…"

"Unfortunately, due to that unforeseen turn of events, Togano-san still hadn't taken care of his second target. The trick of the garage fire had been planned for Fujiwara-san after all," I looked at the train station employee. "Since both had lighters, it would have worked for either of them. Still, with the previous plans a success but one more target, Togano was forced to improvise, which led us to the short-circuit and the attack with the ice-pick."

"Ah… That's why there was so much evidence from the third attack…" Mouri-tantei caught on.

"Togano-san was in the kitchen which allowed him to manipulate the plug and obtain the ice-pick," I leaned against the wall. "In short, the only person who could have committed this series of crimes could only be you, Togano Kento-san."

"You say what you want, but you don't have any proof," he argued with an evil face. "Haven't you hurried a bit in your deductions?"

I smirked, putting a hand under my chin. "If I recall correctly, Ayako-san found something incriminating in your room yesterday. But before we talk about that, why don't I give you an impromptu quiz?"

Without waiting for his answer, I fired my questions.

"First question, was Holmes left-handed?"

"What?!"

"Second, what's the name of Watson's wife?"

"What's this about?"

"Well, you did answer the questions from the exam like every one of us, did you not?" I shrugged.

"Huh?"

"And now question number 241: What did the letter that Holmes sent to the murderer using the "dancing figures" code say?"

"I remember that one. The message was: "Come here at once"," he replied confidently. "Haha, do you want me to show my knowledge about Holmes right now? What do you want?!"

"Conan."

"H-Hai, Haruka-nee-chan?"

"Was the question I just asked in the exam? You who were so excited to participate should be able to remember."

"Iie, the question about the dancing figures was «write the symbols of the dancing figures code»," he told me. "It was a difficult one, so I still remember it."

"A code that even a seven-year-old can remember… Tell me, Togano-san, it wouldn't happen to be because you didn't answer the questionnaire, would it?" I teased. "And Ayako-san couldn't have possibly found your blank test sheets when she went to your room while you were in the garage. Because you couldn't have possibly known that the owner was going to die, which made the contest completely meaningless. Since that is the case, why don't you show it to us? The proof of your «innocence»."

Togano-san fell to his knees, cursing. Seeing him confess, Fujiwara-san grabbed him by the collar and demanded to know why the university student wanted to kill him and the owner.

"Tha Mockery of Irene Adler, correct?" Heiji-senpai guessed.

"What?!"

"Irene is an actress who tricked Holmes, isn't she?" asked Ran.

"Yes, but in this book, Holmes' mistakes during this case were pointed out," the maid replied.

"Togano considered that they were laughing at Sherlock Holmes," Kawatsu-san concluded.

"Pfft. It's the opposite," the culprit slumped in defeat. "Irene was the only woman in the world Sherlock Holmes admired. I can't believe she laughed at Holmes. But I couldn't forgive them. Because they gave such a negative version of the facts, laughing at the Holmes' studies in Japan. They couldn't… They couldn't…"

As he began to cry, Mouri-tantei looked at him with distaste. "You didn't hesitate to kill your girlfriend, the poor girl."

"That was great, Haruka-chan!" Ran exclaimed as I headed towards the window. "You really are a genius detective!"

"Arigatou gozaimasu, but I owe it all to the cases Saguru-senpai let me solve," I smiled sadly. "But I wasn't able to save Ayako-san in the end."

"Haruka-chan?"

"Don't sweat it," Heiji-senpai patted my back. "Ya did what ya could. There's no helpin' it."

"Heiji-nii-chan is right, Haruka-nee-chan!" Conan told me brightly. "You took the ice-pick for Fujiwara-san, right? And you solved the case!"

"I suppose…" The others' applause slowly lifted my spirits. "Domo, domo."

"Who's going to tell the police?" asked Mouri-tantei.

"I'll go," Kawatsu declared.

"Ano…" I called out. "That shouldn't be necessary."

"What do you mean?" Conan asked me.

"The phones have been rendered unusable, remember?" I reminded them. "Saguru-senpai told me to call him once I arrived, but I haven't been able to. Knowing him, he'll probably be sending my sister here along with a few police cars."

"Oi, oi, does he really have that much influence?" Heiji-senpai asked doubtfully.

"His influence may be as big as your father's…" I trailed off.

"Is it just me, or can you hear something strange?" asked Ran.

"I hear it too," said the medium. "It sounds like it's coming closer and closer…"

"Hey, look!" Mouri-tantei gestured towards the window. "The girl was right! The police is here!"

"There also trailer," noted Kawatsu-san.

**_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_**

"I'm going to open the door!" announced the maid as she headed towards the entrance hall.

Moments later, four officers and Hinata-nee-san came in, as well as Baaya. Heiji-senpai and Mouri-tantei quickly began telling the past events to the officers as Hinata-nee-san approached me, a dangerous aura around her…

I gulped. I may have avoided being the target of her wrath so far, but…

"Here."

I looked at the cellphone she held in her hand, then back at her. Hesitantly, I took it back.

"Arigatou, Hinata-nee-san."

"We'll talk later," she told me before smiling. "I'm glad you're safe, Haruka-chan, though that arm of yours needs some healing."

"Satou-sensei?" asked Conan.

"Satou-sensei?" I repeated, pretending not to know what he meant. "Could it be that..."

"Conan-kun, you know Haruka-chan's onee-san?" Ran bent down.

"Hn," he nodded. "Satou-sensei is our new English teacher."

"So _you_ are that little prodigy Nee-san was always talking about!" I exclaimed.

"Sokka… This really is a small world," Ran commented with a smile.

"Hajimemashite, watashi no namae wa Satou Hinata desu," the young woman held out her hand. "Thank you for watching over my imouto."

"Watashi wa Mouri Ran." They shook hands. "But I didn't do much. Haruka-chan was mostly with Hattori-san over there, even before they began investigating the case."

"I'm glad she's making friends," Hinata-nee-san smiled. "Back home, she didn't have many. It seems that moving to Japan was the right thing to do."

An officer coughed to get everyone's attention. "We will be taking Togano Kentou into custody. As for the rest of you, please give us your phone numbers so we can contact you within the next few days to give your testimony. After that, you may leave in the trailer once you've packed all of your belongings."

oOOo

In the end, Baaya drove the trailer back to Tokyo with Hinata-nee-san on standby. The rest of the guests were mostly dispersed, but Heiji-senpai, Conan and I sat together. Ran was a few seats away, with her father, and the others were also out of hearing's range.

"Ne, Conan?" I asked.

"Nani, Haruka-nee-chan?" the boy smiled brightly at me.

"Can you not call me "nee-chan" when the three of us are alone, Kudou?" I asked. "You are two years older than me after all."

"E-Eh? What are you talking about?" he asked nervously.

"Please don't play dumb, Kudou Shinichi, or would you prefer having me tell Ran-san about this?" I told him. "I could maybe tell the press too…"

"No, don't!"

"Then spill," Heiji-senpai said from beside him. "Why are ya a kid, Kudou?"

"Well…" he scratched his head nervously. "There's this organization dressed in black with alcohol codenames… I happened to stumble on a shady deal a member was making and was knocked out by his companion. Then, they fed me this drug that was supposed to kill me and…"

"You shrunk," I concluded blandly. "At least you're still alive."

"And until you find out which organization it is, you hide at your girlfriend's house…" Heiji-senpai added.

"Barou, she isn't my girlfriend," Conan turned away, blushing. "I don't like her… She's a nuisance."

"Ho?"

"Heiji-senpai, I think you shouldn't tell Ran-san about that," I sweat-dropped at his expression. "But since we're in the know now and we're colleagues, I think we ought to give Shinichi-senpai a hand when we can."

"Satou…"

"Please continue calling me Haruka. Add the "-san" suffix if you want, but just don't call me by my last name," I told him.

"I guess Haruka-chan has a point…"

"Since I have my phone right now, could you two give me your numbers? I already have Ran's and the Mouri Detective Agency's," I handed them my dark violet cellphone. "This way, we can all keep in contact. I'll tell you if I encounter any fishy cases that may be connected to those people."

"Well, since we're in this together, why not?" Heiji-senpai shrugged.

* * *

**One of the main reasons Haruka doesn't want people to refer to her by her last name is because of, well, Inspector Satou Miwako. She mostly just fears that people will get the two of them mixed up, or at least their names since they share the same family name.**

**So, how did you enjoy this first case? Haruka will be a lot more active in the Detective Conan timeline from now on!**

**Next chapter coming up next week: Goodbye, Hakuba Saguru!**


	9. Departure of a White Horse

**Hello, everyone, I'm back! There isn't much to say this week except that I am very grateful to LynnZela and kitttfinatic515 for favoriting and/or following this story. I hope to meet your expectations. :)**

**A small interlude before the next case: Departure of a White Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan.**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

_**Chapter Eight - Departure of a White Horse**_

* * *

Right after the Sherlock Holmes case, I've immersed myself in cases and Kaito's lessons while still maintaining high grades. Though my first impromptu case went as well as one could expect, I was still highly displeased with my inability to stop Ayako-san's death. I acknowledge that despite my knowledge of the original turn of events, there is little I can truly change, _especially_ if I want the main plot to remain as intact as possible.

By becoming the assistant/apprentice of a meitantei, I already had many eyes on me. Coupled with my intelligence and prowess at my new job, I attracted enough attention to make the more vigilant members of the Organization to stand on guard. To avoid becoming a target, I didn't hesitate in taking a leaf in Shinichi-senpai's book and had the police avoid mentioning me whenever I solved a case without Saguru-senpai. It seems to be working well so far, but a change of strategy may be necessary in the near future.

Whichever path I choose ahead of me, I intend to save the lives of as many people as possible. There will certainly be murders that I cannot prevent for one reason or another, but as long as I save those from cases which are not connected to the Black Organization, it'll be a start. Preventing a murder case from even starting would be better, but I must have some kind of contact with the culprit-to-be and convince him/her, preferably without revealing my identity, in case I failed.

"So that's why you want me to give you lessons?" Kaito asked, still a bit confused. "To be able to disguise yourself if necessary?"

"The Organization is not an easy enemy. If I can imitate voices, pick locks and disguise myself quickly and efficiently, I will have more moves to use against them. Not only that, it can help me solve a lot of cases. So please?" I begged. "With a cherry on top?"

He sighed as he leaned against the couch. Shortly after I became Saguru-senpai's right-hand girl, Hinata-nee-san and I would either invite Kaito to eat at our place or eat dinner at his. Aoko-senpai would often be there when we visited the Kuroba residence and got along quite well with Hinata-nee-san. Today Kaito was staying over until 9 PM and we were waiting for nee-san to come home before beginning to cook.

"Since we're helping each other out, I guess I can teach you some tricks…" he debated. "But your progress will only depend on yourself."

"I know that," I told him, my hands gripping the sides of my skirt tightly. "I won't disappoint you, Kaito-senpai."

Suddenly, he pinched my nose.

"Kaito-senpai!"

"Don't act so serious," he chastised. "You live only once and you've gotta take advantage of your youth."

"Urusai, you sound like an old man."

The joker grinned in response before flicking my nose.

"This is getting old," I commented as I rubbed it.

"If you want, we can start with the voice lessons and the sleight of hand lessons first," he suggested as he looked at the clock. "Aoko's not going to bother us today and Hinata-san probably won't be back for another hour at least. We can do the lock-picking at my house, since it'll be less suspicious."

"Since Aoko-senpai only joins us on Tuesday and Friday now, we have five other days for lessons," I added. "But we shouldn't crowd the weekend too much since I have cases and you have heists."

"So it's settled then," he agreed. "Now, first, I'll ask you to imitate people's voices to see how good you are."

We went at it for the rest of the night. In the end, though it was my turn to cook, Hinata-nee-san took over the kitchen since she didn't want to disturb us with how concentrated we were. I almost didn't notice her coming in, to be honest.

Thanks to voice lesson number 1, I discovered that I had a lot of difficulty in that area. For some reason, my auditory memory is lacking to the point that I cannot differentiate some voices. Yet I can remember their exact words. Then, there was the imitating itself. Despite being female, those are the voices I find most difficult to imitate while I could imitate Kaito-senpai to a certain point on the first try. I still am not quite sure what to think of it.

"Well, everyone has their weaknesses," Kaito-senpai shrugged when I told him. "Though yours is funnier compared to most."

I nearly slumped in defeat at that.

Then came lock-picking. To be honest, I had only seen it done in movies and knowing that those doors were easily unlocked with hairpins on purpose discouraged me somewhat. Luckily, Kaito-senpai started teaching me with lock-picks. I needed a few days to unlock door A successfully within twenty minutes and the quota to pass that level was unlocking it within a minute or less. To pass the course, there were three more doors to go with lock-picks and redoing it all with hairpins.

To be honest, if Kaito-senpai wasn't so easy-going, those lessons would have been a real pain. He wasn't as strict as my mother nor did he have as big of a presence as my father, which helped remind me that I was still in Japan. Still, sometimes, during the harsher lessons, I would be reminded of my mother's disapproving words and my father's shouts. Then, I would emerge from those memories and return to my work as though nothing had happened.

I know that all three of them – Kaito-senpai, Hinata-nee-san and Saguru-senpai – have noticed how I would tremble or petrify when in the presence of a commanding officer or a strict teacher. They haven't spoken to me about it yet and I don't think I'll ever be ready to tell them about it. Even Helena and Lea didn't know the details of my home life. How would I ever be able to tell them, especially since they do not even know who I really am?

oOOo

By the end of the first week of my private lessons with Kaito-senpai, Saguru-senpai made an announcement to the whole class.

He was going to return to England by the beginning of next week due to the cases over there. However, he believes that he will eventually return to Ekoda High for good. I suppose that he cannot stay away from Phantom Thief 1412 for long as he was the instigator of the only crime the meitantei has not been able to solve thus far…

Shortly after his announcement, Aoko-senpai suggested that we hold a farewell party for him on Sunday evening. It would take place in the Kuroba residence, being the one with the most space (the Koizumi residence had been immediately eliminated as it wasn't the best of locations…). And so, both she and Kaito-senpai went ahead to clean the place while Akako-senpai and I had a chat over tea at her home.

"I suppose everything has been going on as you planned?" she asked me after tasting her drink.

I gave a wry smile. "So far, it has. It'll be some time yet before I let Conan and Kaito meet though. I'd rather have them make an opinion of each other first, even if it is within the roles of thief and detective."

"I see that you are taking everything day by day," the witch commented. "Have you found them yet? Those two friends of yours?"

I shook my head. "I think that they are not in this world, at least."

"Care to explain?"

I put my cup back on the saucer. "You told me yourself that the collapsing logic was responsible for the portal's apparition. That being the case, I believe the logic you speak of is the same one that was mentioned in a story I once read. When the characters traveled between worlds, they had to do so together or they would land in different places and times. The twins may have gone through it together, but I only did some time after them."

"Unfortunately, it continues to tear itself apart," Akako-senpai stated. "Logic, that is. With the way things are going, the portal that connected your world to mine and the world where your friends are will merge them together."

"Merge?"

The Scarlet Witch laughed. "Of course, the chances for that are very small. But it would be best if everything remains as it is, wouldn't you agree? Since you have been running away from your past."

I looked outside. "Yes… I have been constantly running away, as much as possible and as far as possible… I'm glad to have landed in this world."

"Why?"

I turned back towards her with a smile. "Not only can I understand what happened thanks to you, but I have also made friends here. People who accept me despite not knowing anything. These people… they've become precious."

"Strengthening bonds, huh?"

oOOo

The party was a simple thing. The four of us played board games, watched two movies and enjoyed Kaito-senpai's magic show. I made extra effort to include Saguru-senpai since I doubted that he had ever celebrated in such a fashion before. I was glad to see him smiling more than he had for the last two months and half and I think he was too.

Akako-senpai left first. About ten minutes later, Saguru-senpai called Baaya to pick him up and went outside to wait for her.

"So, did you enjoy it?" I asked as I joined him on the sidewalk. "This farewell party."

"I suppose I should be glad that Kuroba decided not to play pranks on me for once," he commented airily.

"What can I say?" I crossed my arms and looked at the stars. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. That statement certainly applies to Aoko-senpai when it come to her childhood friend."

"I'm flattered that Nakamori-san would take the time to ensure my safety from Kuroba."

"You wouldn't happen to "like" Aoko-senpai, would you, Saguru-senpai?" I teased good naturedly.

"It seems that her eyes are for another, however," he turned around to see Kaito-senpai and Aoko-senpai arguing inside.

"And his eyes are for her and her only," I smiled. "Just like a fairy tale with childhood friends."

"You'll have to watch over Kuroba and make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble," the half-European meitantei patted my shoulder.

"Take care of yourself," I replied. "There is only one half-British Hakuba Saguru I know after all. And that person is irreplaceable."

"Haruka-chan as well," he told me. "In this world, only one Satou Haruka is my assistant. Your talent is still needed."

"Which is why you threatened Kaito-senpai to ensure my safety earlier, correct?"

He smirked. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Don't forget to call," I told him as he went in the car. "Eventually, I should be able to tell you everything. I just hope that, until that day comes, you can trust me and Kaitou Kid to know what we are doing."

"I cannot promise you that, but I can try," he conceded. "I leave Japan in your hands then, Haruka-chan. Don't forget your cellphone."

"I suppose that means I am supposed to trust you with England?" I lifted an eyebrow comically.

"Don't worry too much," he said smugly. "London's death rate isn't as high as Tokyo's after all."

"Whatever you say, Saguru-senpai," I laughed. "Whatever you say."

I waved him goodbye until the car disappeared into the distance. He probably won't be returning until the Sunset Mansion case and that's in a very long time. His appearances in both Detective Conan and Magic Kaito are quite scarce as I recall. He would be an excellent ally to have on the lookout for Pandora and the organization overseas. I have no doubt that he would accept to help once he is aware of the situation, but before that…

"Haruka-chan, you're still here?" Aoko-senpai's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "You might catch a cold."

"I'm fine, just thinking," I smiled. "Do you think that it will be calmer now that Saguru-senpai is gone?"

"Knowing Kaito, not by much," she giggled. "But the two of you will probably miss Hakuba-kun the most."

I scratched my head. "I kind of doubt that; we will probably be too busy to by the time he returns. School, cases and pranks do take time. And his fans will miss him more than us, I can guarantee it."

"Well, we'll see each other at school tomorrow then," Aoko-senpai told me as we neared her apartment building. "Bye!"

"Bye, Aoko-senpai!" I waved back.

* * *

**Please follow, favorite and please, please, review pretty please!**

**Next chapter: Japanese Mummy Killer**


	10. Japanese Mummy Killer

**Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Here is the new chapter of A Second Chance! I hope that you will enjoy Haruka's second case with Hattori and Conan.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan and I am awaiting the Scarlet epilogue!**

* * *

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

**_Chapter Nine - Japanese Mummy Killer_**

* * *

Saguru-senpai had barely left when Heiji-senpai called me for a case. No, it did not concern the Organization. Yes, he invited the Mouri family and Conan as well. No, he wasn't doing it for kicks. Oh, and he's going to send someone to pick me up.

All in all, nothing unusual.

Then, the car stopped in front of a luxurious mansion with a familiar architecture.

"So much for another simple case…" I sighed as I got out of the car. I only had the time to change out of my uniform and grab a quick snack before leaving, without forgetting to warn Hinata-nee-san, of course.

"Would you happen to be Satou Haruka-sama?" asked the butler.

"Yes, Hattori Heiji called me here, sir," I bowed.

"The young detective is inside with his father," the old man told me. "Let me introduce myself: I am Take Nosuka, butler here for many generations now."

"Yoroshiku," I smiled as we entered the building. I immediately noticed the number of security guards and two particular people among them.

"Ah, Haruka-chan, ya made it!" Heiji-senpai waved when he noticed me.

"Heiji-senpai, you haven't changed at all," I shook my head with amusement. "Conan-tachi wa? They're still not here yet?"

"Nope, but they should be here soon enough," the dark-skinned teen grinned broadly. "Let me introduce you. This is my oyajii, Hattori Heizo, Chief Commander of tha Osaka Police Force."

"Dozo yoroshiku," I bowed. "Watashi wa Satou Haruka, kookoosei tantei desu."

The strict man nodded in approval. "Heiji told me 'bout how you solved the Sherlockian case and how you refused ta let your name leak out to tha papers. Yer humble for one so young."

"I'm still a greenhorn compared to the Heisei Holmes of the East and West," I replied. "So? What is this case you wanted me to help solve, Heiji-senpai?"

"Well, ya see…" he grinned the same way Kaito-senpai did when planning a prank. "We've gotta help tha owner of this mansion ta find his first love. The name is Akagi Kotomi. She got married when she was 29 years old and had a son called Yamato Kohei. 5 years later they left their hometown and… Pof! Disappeared without a trace!"

"Heiji-senpai, you must be joking," I deadpanned. It certainly didn't help that I knew _exactly _what he was talking about and that if I had a computer, I would be able to find the woman with relative ease. But truly irritated me was that Hattori Heiji, meitantei of the West, believes, for some unknown reason, that I would fall for his trick.

"No, I'm not," he denied with that knowing grin.

"If you persist, I'll call Mouri-tantei and tell him that this new case of his is actually a hoax by a high schooler," I threatened, cellphone in hand. Ever since the Sherlock Holmes incident, Hinata-nee-san and Saguru-senpai forced me to take my phone with me everywhere. Not that I'll be able to contact them if I'm out of range, which, by the looks of things, will probably happen more than they would like.

"Okay, okay!" the dark-skinned boy admitted defeat. "I'll tell you…"

oOOo

"…and that's why all of us have been gathered for Nagato-san's birthday party," I told Conan as Ran scolded her father in the hallway.

"Strange footsteps, banging sounds from the balcony…" the child said pensively. "It certainly sounds like a burglary, yet…"

"Doesn't it sound a bit like a planned murder?" I suggested. "There were a few such cases where there had been strange sounds the days preceding the murder."

"If that's true, then we'll have to unmask the culprit before the crime is committed," the shrunken detective declared.

"Tha murder will probably take place 'round tha owner's birthday party," Heiji-senpai lowered his baseball cap. "So we still have a few hours."

"Mitsuaki-san would certainly have a motive for killing Nagato-san, if he is after the company," I began. "The eldest daughter, Nagato Nobuko, would probably kill Hyuuga Miyuki-san for becoming so close to the Nagato family. Hideomi-san would target Mitsuaki for whatever grudge he has against his brother-in-law… The only one who doesn't seem to have anything to do with this at first glance would be Yasue-san."

"We can't rule her out yet," Conan warned me. "Sometimes it's the less suspicious ones who end up being the murderer."

"Why don't we each watch a person?" Heiji-senpai suggested. "I'll take over Mitsuaki-han, Kudou can watch Hideomi-han and that leaves Nobuko-han to you."

"We shouldn't follow them since it would be suspicious, but we should at least note down anything that's out of place," I declared.

"We should also pay attention to our surroundings," the shrunken meitantei added. "We just might find the source of the banging sounds."

oOOo

Since Nobuko-san was in her room more often than not, I had decided to look for Hideomi-san's room instead. I didn't want Hyuuga-san to kill her "future" brother-in-law, but I cannot unmask her without proof. Unfortunately, that proof is hidden so that it will only be easily uncovered after the murder. If I warned Mitsuaki-san, he would kill Hyuuga-san, but if I warn her instead…

Damnit! Is there really no way but to follow the Plot?

**_Dring-dring!_**

"Moshi moshi?"

"How are you, my little assistant?"

I smiled as I leaned against the wall. "I'm doing quite well, detective. I've had quite a few cases on my hands since you left. In fact, I'm in the middle of one now."

"What kind of case?"

"I can't tell for certain yet. It can escalate to either burglary or murder. My two detective friends are also on the case, and we're trying to unmask the culprit before the murder is committed, _if_ it turns out to be the case. However, so far, we cannot find any incriminating proof without attracting attention and the most likely time of murder is quickly approaching."

"Well, if that's the case, I won't be disturbing you any longer," I could hear him shuffle through papers. Probably files from the cases he had solved. "I'll be checking up on you soon, Haruka-chan."

"Come back soon, Saguru-senpai. I can't make Kaito-senpai suffer as much as you can."

He broke in a fit of laughter. "I'll see what I can do. If there is a particular case that needs my attention in Japan, I will fly over as soon as possible."

"And in the meantime, all Japanese cases addressed to Hakuba Saguru are mine to solve," I concluded. "You've left me quite a workload here, you know."

"You'll gain experience from this, Haruka-chan."

"Whatever you say, Brit. Ja ne."

"Ah! Haruka-chan, there you are!" I heard Ran exclaim as I pocketed my cellphone.

"Nanda? Did something happen, Ran-san?"

"The party's going to start soon," she told me. "Hattori and Conan-kun were looking all over for you!"

"Wakatta," I smiled. "Ikimashou."

oOOo

After getting a discreet scolding from the two kookoosei meitantei, I looked around the room. Mitsuaki-san had left earlier to disguise himself as Hideomi and Nagato-san was slowly but surely falling asleep. The food was pretty much finished and everyone else was preparing to retire. The phone call should be coming in soon enough…

**_Dring-dring!_**

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"Moshi moshi?" the butler picked up the phone. "… The Master is asleep, sir! Everyone is also about to retire for the night," he replied as Yasue-san gestured for him to speak more quietly. "What's that?..."

A loud scream came from the phone.

"Mistuaki-sama!"

Mouri-tantei quickly took the phone in his own hands. "Mitsuaki! Where are you?!"

He then headed towards the balcony where he kept repeating Mitsuaki-san's name over and over again. That was when a bandaged man, dressed just like Hideomi, appeared on the balcony below. As the culprit returned in the room, everyone else, except for Hyuuga-san, who remained on the balcony, ran back inside to stop him from escaping.

We all hurried to the room as fast as we could, but the room was locked. The butler rushed to get the spare key as Heiji-senpai went to get the security guards.

I was half-tempted to return to the master bedroom, despite knowing that it will be too late by the time I arrived. Just then…

"Aaaaaah!"

"Mitsuaki's voice!" Yasue exclaimed.

"Here's the key, detective!" the butler returned.

"Hurry!"

However, there was not a single soul in the room. At the balcony, there was a hook with a long rope, still swinging from side to side. And below…

"Mitsuaki-san must have either fallen or been thrown off," I declared as I took in the sight of his body impaled upon the spikes of the fence. Seeing it in person is so much more gruesome than in a manga, especially since the latter was in black and white.

oOOo

"Are you certain the killer was Hideomi?" asked Megure-keibu.

"Yeah, we could see him clearly…" Mouri-tantei replied as he thought back to the bandaged man with a knife between his teeth.

"I'm sure you'Re mistaken!" Hyuuga-san exclaimed. "Hideomi would never do something like this! I'm positive! There must an explanation!"

"It's obvious that Hideomi murdered my husband!" Yasue exclaimed in tears. "And yet you're still vouching for him?"

"Hideomi couldn't have done this!" the secretary repeated. "Even though… He has errored before… How can you be certain that the murderer was Hideomi?"

"That's exactly right!" Heiji-senpai added. "We only saw a face completely covered in bandages… But who's to say that underneath was really Hideomi?"

"Bandages?" Megure-keibu repeated.

"Hideomi had burn scars all over his face, scars that he covers with bandages in such a way that there is no telling whether it is really him," I explained.

"We saw the killer shortly after 10:00 PM, when everyone happened to be in the 3rd story bedroom," the Osakan detective added. "Let's start this story over from the beginning, which is when Mitsuaki- called to tell us that a stranger attacked him with a knife in the room below us at the time…"

Once the timeline of the murder was clear for the inspector, he began asking for details and the whereabouts of Hideomi. Just as he presented the knife, beanie and bandages that were now pieces of evidence, Conan exclaimed in surprise.

"On the back of the victim's right hand, there's a small mark…" he lifted said hand for everyone to see. "Exactly as if something had been stabbed into it! Please take a look."

"Nonsense!" retorted Mouri-tantei after hitting the boy on the head. "His hand probably hit the spikes when he fell down!"

"Are there any other marks, officer?" I asked the chief of the forsenics team.

"Yes, miss. On the left side of his chest there is a stab wound 5 cm deep!"

"That's the killing blow!" the Sleeping Kogorou declared smugly.

"Compare that with the knife found at the crime scene!" instructed Megure-keibu.

"Yes sir!"

"You!" he called out to two other officers. "Go back to the station and identify those footprints!"

"News, sir!" another one ran towards us. "We've looked at the footage on the security camera outside the fence. But from the time the murder occurred… no one has set foot outside these grounds!"

"WHAT?! But that means…!"

oOOo

Luckily, Nagato-san, Ran-san and Nobuko-san were all safe. The murderer is obviously one of the previous suspects, but just about everyone had an alibi. At the time of the murder, Mouri-tantei, Ran, Yasue-san, the butler, Heiji-senpai, Conan and I were together at the second floor. Nagato-san is eliminated as a suspect as his health would not permit him to leave his bed, not to mention that he was the one who sent for the police and Mouri-tantei. That only leaves Nobuko-san, whose alibi is shaky compared to Hyuuga-san's. However, Nobuko-san had no motive to kill Mitsuaki-san.

"…But ain't it strange?" asked Heiji-senpai. "We've arranged policemen in tha garden surroundin' tha house. Inside there are three brilliant detectives, one not-so-brilliant detective… yet tha murderer still treat us like trash, openly committing tha crime then leavin'."

"The criminal has a very daring nature… quite unique nowadays," I commented.

"Not necessarily," Conan declared. "Maybe for some reason or another, they couldn't change the plan that was set down."

"I wonder if the murderer has some grudge against Hideomi-san. He framed the man by showing us a bloodied bandaged face and left the bandages, the beanie and the knife behind…" I frowned. "The culprit probably ensured that none of his hair or fingerprints are on the evidence, whether it's Hideomi-san or not."

"If those pieces of conviction have Hideomi's hair and fingerprints all over them, then it's highly possible that the culprit framed him," the shrunken detective concluded.

"Hey, Kudou, Haruka-chan, don'tcha think that Nobuko woman is very suspicious?" asked Heiji-senpai. "She was the only one ta leave tha room when everyone else was crowding around Nagato-san's bed."

"Don't be so quick to find a conclusion," Conan told him. "We don't have any evidence yet! And if there was something noteworthy, I'm sure that Haruka would have told us already."

"Uh… Right…"

"That's odd…" Ran-san commented from behind us. "Hey there! When did you three become such good friends?"

"Ah, talkin' ta this brat helps relieve tha boredom!" Heiji-senpai patted the boy's head. "We're not very close at all!"

"Having him around is like having a little brother," I smiled. "Two of my friends back in America have one who is quite annoying, unlike this little one."

"Hey, Hattori, Haruka-chan, do _you_ think the killer is Hideomi?" she asked nervously.

"Ah… Uh…" the teen stuttered. "At the moment, he's tha most suspicious one!"

"Heiji-senpai is right, but I can't believe that the murderer would show his face to us so daringly," I told her. "Other than him, I still can't see who could have possibly done it though."

"Well, I'll leave you two alone to deduce the culprit's identity then," Ran-san decided.

Once she was out of earshot, I sighed. "This is going to be a long weekend. I can just feel it."

ooOOoo

I quietly walked through the mansion's hallways, careful not to be seen or heard. Just a couple of minutes ago, the corpse of one Nagato Hideomi was found inside the pond around which holes were dug for planting new trees. According to the autopsy, the man died 36 to 48 hours ago. Furthermore, he did not die from drowning, but from a lethal poison he indigested beforehand. There were also stones in his pockets to prevent him from floating to the surface and since the water was quite filthy, no one would have ever noticed him had Hyuuga-san not insisted on getting back her pen which had fallen into the pond.

There was also a suicide note that goes: "My dearest Miyuki, I cannot marry. With the sin that I have committed, only death can be my release. Hideomi."

In other words, if he truly is the culprit, then he first killed his brother-in-law before committing suicide out of guilt despite the fact that he's hated Mitsuaki-san ever since the fire incident 20 years ago…

Of course, the fact that Mitsuaki-san _was_ stabbed with the knife and the blood on the bandages w_ere_ his was not in Hideomi-san's favour. The hair in the beanie also belonged to the scarred man, condemning him even more.

Curiously though, a 1m long fishing line had been found in Mitsuaki-san's clothing and the wound on the back of his hand was not made by a knife but another object. There wasn't any saliva on the knife either.

That was without mentioning how it was virtually impossible for Hideomi-san to write his suicide letter after the murder as he's been running away from everyone.

To sum it up, as Conan had declared, the murderer was definitely _not_ Hideomi-san.

And I am going to confront the real murderer, alone.

oOOo

I found Hyuuga-san in Hideomi-san's room, rummaging for his scripts so that the police can compare the handwriting. No one else was around, and the door was enough to hide me from view. If she comes out, then I should be able to hide in one of the nearby rooms before she notices me.

I clenched my hands as my heart beat faster and faster due to nervousness. It was time to see the results of my lessons with Kaito-senpai.

"Hyuuga Miyuki."

I heard a gasp from the other side of the door and the sound of a stack of papers falling on the floor.

"D-Dare? Dare da?" she asked nervously.

"It matters not," I replied in her own voice. "What does matter is your part in both Nagato Hideomi and Nagato Mitsuaki's murder. I know how you did it and when you did it. I suggest you to give yourself up to the police, before someone else gets hurt."

"H-How?" I could hear the fear in her voice. "What are you planning to do?"

"Nothing in particular," I shrugged. "I just don't want you to do any more things that you will regret. Though Nagato Dosan-san gave you an alibi, it can be shattered to pieces. Even if you do not turn yourself in, your role in this case will be revealed. I suggest you to think about this, Hyuuga Miyuki."

I quickly left, turning at the corner and entering a room. The secretary must have gotten over her shock then, for I heard her frantic footsteps outside my hiding spot. After a while though, she gave up on finding me, probably deciding that she must have had a hallucination and went back to Hideomi-san's room to gather the papers she dropped earlier. Once I was certain that she had left, I snuck out of the room and quickly went outside to where I knew Heiji-senpai will bring Conan.

oOOo

"Oh, so you found that too, Haruka-chan!" Heiji-senpai exclaimed as he came outside with Conan.

"You mean the marks under Mitsuaki-san's bedroom and Nobuko-san's?" I gestured towards them.

"Yup, that's what I mean," he grinned.

"Strange…" noted Conan. "The marks under Nobuko-san's balcony are much clearer than Mitsuaki-san's…"

"It must have something to do with the banging noises, correct?" I spoke our thoughts aloud.

"Let's go check it out!" Conan declared as he ran back inside.

During our search, Nobuko-san didn't return to her room even once. However, the phone did ring, giving us her solid alibi.

"Leaving a bunch of half-hour messages before 10:00 at night, huh?" I repeated. "She cannot be the culprit then."

"So we return to the original suspect: Hideomi," Heiji-senpai decided.

"We need to search his room," Conan agreed.

The search itself wasn't that eventful… The room was covered in books and papers, many of which had gathered dust. However, under a pile was an answering machine. I thank kami that Mitsuaki-san and Hyuuga-san didn't know about it. If they did, they would have erased the decisive evidence against their framing Hideomi-san as a culprit.

"Bip. Hello Nagato-san. Yamada here, editor for "Modern Litterature" Publishers… I'll meet you at the same place 1 PM tomorrow to talk to you about your script. **Bip. Message received at 1:28 25****th**** March.**"

"March 5th is the day before the murder," I said before the second message was played.

"**Bip.** This is Yamada! I'm at the usual coffee shop. **Bip. Message received at 3:04 PM 26****th**** March.**"

"**Bip. Bip. **Yamada here, I've waited for six hours. I guess you can't come, so I'm going… **Bip. **It's been 2, 3 days…"

"Say can it be that Hideomi was…" Heiji-senpai declared.

"No way! His estimated time of death was…" Conan objected.

"But since his corpse was inside the pond..." I reminded them.

"I've got it!" Heiji-senpai exclaimed. "Tha killer used that method ta hide Hideomi's body!"

"If so, then the killer can only be that person and no one else!" Conan declared.

"The evidence must still be in that room!" I told them.

oOOo

Within an hour, not only have we found the missing sheets, the swimming cap and the needle, but we have also sedated Mouri-tantei and completed our deduction. Once we had the evidence as well, everything was set to go. Heiji-senpai hurried downstairs whereas I remained in the room with Conan, waiting for everyone else to arrive for our deduction show.

"We're all here!" Megure-keibu announced as he opened the door. "What do you want to tell us, Hattori? Huh? Where is he?"

"I told Hattori to ask everyone to come up here!" Conan said wiz Sleeping Kogorou.

"So it was you, dad!"

"What is it, Mouri-kun?" asked Megure-keibu.

"I'd like to tell you all that I have found…" the shrunken detective smirked. "The person who killed Mitsuaki... and threw Hideomi into the pond!"

"Hey now! It was Hideomi who killed Mitsuaki!" protested the officer. "Then he poisoned himself in the pond! Even the handwriting on the letter matched up with…"

**_DRING!_**

"The phone…"

"If Megure-keibu would please pick up the phone, the tragic night Mitsuaki died on the fence will play out once more," I said ominously.

"Moshi moshi?" the inspector said hesitantly. "Hattori? What the heck are you starting?"

I heard Heiji-senpai scream through the phone at that point.

"What happened?... Where are you now?... The room b-below?" asked the inspector as he arrived at the balcony. "Wha- ? What?!"

"What's going on?" asked the butler as Megure-keibu hung up the phone.

"Shiranai! Anyway, we have to save him!"

"Stop it right there," Conan instructed. "This was how the killer drove everyone out of the room… So that this room's…" A hook grabbed onto the balcony. "Terrifying truth… would be hidden."

Just then, a bandaged man, much like Hideomi-san climbed onto the balcony behind the Sleeping Kogorou.

"Who are you?" asked the inspector as the person undid his disguise.

"It's just me…"

"Hattori?!"

"What are you doing?" asked Megure-keibu.

"This was ta show "tha murderer's" plan… Tha alarming ohone call, tha knife and bandaged face… were all an elaborate act by Mitsuaki in order ta frame Hideomi!"

"That's absurd! The killer was covered in Mitsuaki's blood… plus there were cuts on Mitsuaki's body!" Megure-keibu exclaimed.

"He made those cuts himself," Conan explained. "Mitsuaki only needs a syringe to withdraw his blood beforehand and spray it on the bandages. The bandages and hat likely belonged to Hideomi, so he wore a swimming cap to hold down his hair."

"A swimming cap and a syringe were found in his room just earlier," I show the items inside a plastic bag.

"But Mitsuaki's the murdered one! Why would he do all that?"

"Most likely to kill Nagato-san. That's why he lured everyone downstairs while he climbed up here!" Conan declared.

"Nagato-san?!"

"Yes, the same man his accomplice drugged."

"An accomplice?!" Meigure-keibu couldn't believe his ears.

"Right – tha plan was probably for Mitsuaki ta kill the president and return below while his accomplice kept everyone downstairs," Heiji-senpai revealed.

"Yet, at the last minute the accomplice betrayed him," I declared as I looked at Hyuuga Miyuki in the eye. "The only one who could kill Mitsuaki-san is the one who was left behind… Hyuuga Miyuki, it was you!"

"Mitsuaki probably never expected for things ta end so horribly," Heiji-senpai continued. "His partner-in-crime… waitin' for him up here ta push him off the balcony!"

"But then the knife should have fallen with Mitsuaki?" asked Megure-keibu.

"He likely tossed his knife, bandages and hat outside before his climb," Conan replied. "Furthermore, a knife wasn't needed."

"Mitsuaki had a grappling wire ready in his jacket ta kill Nagato-san!" the Western detective declared.

"Of course, Hyuuga-san's only target was Mitsuaki-san," I crossed my arms. "Since everyone saw the bandaged man on the balcony and Mitsuaki-san's body was found shortly afterwards, no one would have suspected that it was actually the victim's trick!"

"Then what was that swinging wire?" asked Megure-keibu.

"He had tha wire pulled up, then, grabbin' the weight on tha opposite end, let it hook onta tha railing below…" Heiji-senpai demonstrated. "It'll hit tha balcony and stop on its own. Tha weight will make tha rope swing back and forth as if someone had just climbed it! As proof, there are numerous markings made by that weight on tha underside of Nagato-san and Nobuko-san's balconies. Miyuki probably tested it tha day before ta see."

"Nobuko-san is often blind drunk so she wouldn't hear anything," Conan added. "But Nagato-san clearly heard the sounds.

"Nagato-san?"

"He even heard their footsteps running in the hallway. That could have been Hyuuga-san measuring the time it takes to get from Mitsuaki's room to the storage room where the spare key was kept. That would be the length of time she needed to stall everyone while Mitsuaki did the deed. In other words, she had planned the murder the day before!"

"Are you saying she killed Hideomi too?" asked the inspector. "And what about the will? The autopsy stated that Hideomi died at least 6 hours after Mitsuaki. But at the time Mitsuaki's body was found, the security guards increased their surveillance in the grounds and around the pond. Hyuuga-san didn't have the chance to do anything!"

"I already told you, keibu. Her only target was Mitsuaki."

"What?!"

"The handwriting in that letter really is Hideomi's," Conan revealed. "He left it for Hyuuga-san before he drank the poison. Which is a day before Mitsuaki was murdered!"

"The… The day before?!"

I watched Hyuuga-san the whole time Heiji-senpai explained how it was that the coroner mistook the time of death and the real identity of "Hideomi". What did she feel, I wonder, having all of her crimes exposed in such a manner? Was she reliving the moments we are describing for the others? Was she regretting her act? Or simply regretting that she left so much evidence?

I felt bad for the poor woman to be honest. Though it is somewhat of a standard to fall in love with the one who saved you, to fall in love with the one who killed your parents… How conflicted she must have been…

Once Heiji-senpai and Conan finished explaining Hyuuga-san's lack of a watch and how her pen was bent, I stepped up to explain the cause of everything. The cause of the bad feelings between Mitsuaki-san and Hideomi-san, the reason why Hideomi-san didn't want to have plastic surgery and why he couldn't marry the girl he saved.

"Why did you make Nobuko angry so we'd find Hideomi?" Heiji-senpai asked. "Did you do it on purpose? The police would've found him soon enough… So why?"

"Because that person…" Hyuuga-san lowered her face. "I didn't want to leave him in the cold water any more…"

She suddenly took the big flask on her table and took out a lighter once she put it on the floor. "All of you, stay back! This flask is full of petrol!"

"Hey, hey," Megure-keibu reached out. "Don'T be so foolish!"

"I'm serious!" Hyuuga-san lit her lighter.

"Hyuuga-san…"

"The detective's right. His will explained everything about the fire! They had to pay… that carefree Mitsuaki… and Hideomi, who never said a word about it! But… But I… couldn't help falling in love with him!" she exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "He risked his life to save me… He always came and took care of me, walked with me, and comforted me so much… and he even accepted my proposal!"

She opened the flask.

"But Hideomi is gone now… I'm all alone again. I have to hurry to him…"

"Don't!" Ran-san exlcaimed.

"It's no use, Hyuuga-san, I took out all of the petrol," I told her sadly.

"WHY? Hideomi's fire lit so easily! Why won't mine?!"

"Stay back!" she exclaimed as two officers went to restrain her. "I want to be with Hideomi… Hideomi… HIDEOMI!""

"Maybe we should've let her die…" Heiji-senpai declared as he watched her struggled against the policemen.

"Fool," Conan lectured him. "A detective who corners someone with logic, but lets them commit suicide… is no different from a murderer."

"Such a pain to my ears…" Heiji-senpai sighed. "To hear the perfect one say such a line…"

"There's no such thing as a perfect person," I told him. "Even he… Even I… am just one person."

"Besides, that person can save Miyuki-san," Conan added as she continued to cry in the background.

"That person?"

"That's enough, Hyuuga-san," Nagato-san declared as he arrived with the help of an officer. "No more foolishness about following Hideomi…"

"Ah! Goshuujin-sama!"

"Your mother wasn't this sort of person," Nagato-san told his secretary.

"What? What are you saying? What do you know of my mother?"

"Of course I would know," the president smiled. "That pen you have is a present I gave her when she transferred to my grade school."

"What?"

"It seems you thought it was your father's…" he chuckled. "I won't ask you to forgive Hideomi, but you're still young, your life's just begun. Live strongly for Hideomi also. I'm certain that your mother wishes that."

oOOo

"What?" Heiji-senpai exclaimed. "So Nagato-san's first love was Miyuki's mother?"

"I guess that Nagato-san loved her like his own daughter, so he covered up for her," I told him.

"Huh, I thought he said, "Miyuki was with me the whole time" as atonement for his son," the Osakan detective said pensively. "But I guess it also has another meaning!"

"I bet he wanted to see his first love because he saw her in Miyuki's face!" Conan added.

"Alright, Kudou, don't tell me you knew the whole time?" he asked, annoyed.

"Ah, you said "Kudou" again!" Ran-san exclaimed. "Could it be Kudou…"

"A-ah, I said…" the dark-skinned high schooler sweat-dropped. "Kudoi, kudoi! This guy kept asking me about the incident, so I said he's too much!"

"Huh…"

"You're sure from Osaka," Conan deadpanned.

"And best in Japanese theatrics," he grinned.

"Kimi-tachi…" I shook my head. "Absolutely hopeless…"

* * *

**And voilà! It's kind of short, for a case, but there will be cases that take up to two chapters of this length in the future. **

**To chibianimefan26: Thank you so much for your reviews! Don't worry, this fanfiction isn't about to end anytime soon, and with us still in the beginning of the story... I'm glad that you think it is unique; we authors try to make our own works different from the others, even if there are similarities, some more glaringly obvious than others. As for having read White Phoenix, Blue Moon... I can kind of understand where you're coming from. On Fanfiction, it can be easy to stumble across stories from the same author without realizing, though it usually occurs when said stories are from the same fandom and have the same basic idea.**

**As for the rest of you who have been reading this, I'm very happy to see that there are people out there who are interested in this story. **

**Please leave a review so I can know what you think about it!**

**Next Chapter: A Stellar Party**


	11. A Stellar Party

**Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Black Star heist! This was one of my favorite chapters, if only for Kaitou KID. Anyways, there isn't much to say about everything that happened so far. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan and chances are that I never will.**

* * *

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

**_Chapter Ten - A Stellar Party_**

* * *

Shortly after the case in the Nagato mansion, Kaito-senpai announced that his next heist was ready. The phantom thief's next target is none other than the Suzuki heirloom, the pearl that brings good luck, the Black Star. He hasn't been able to sit still after school, contemplating how he would outdo Nakamori-keibu once again…

I was excited as well, though for another reason. The Black Star heist was/is Kaitou Kid's debut in the Detective Conan franchise. In other words, Kudou Shinichi and Kaitou Kid will formally meet each other for the first time. Furthermore, after pulling some strings thanks to Saguru-senpai, I've obtained permission to help "guard" the pearl from my classmate. This is one of the most awaited heists in my opinion, and I simply cannot wait to see it in person!

**_Dring-dring!_**

"Uwaah…" yawned Conan. "Moshi moshi?"

"Konbanwa, Conan," I greeted as I held Kid's notice in my left hand. "How have you been?"

"M'okay… Why did you call, Haruka-san?"

"Have you heard of Kaitou 1412?" I asked.

"Not you too…" he groaned.

"Tomorrow, I'll be at Beika museum with the police to help guard the jewel," I told him. "Since I've also received a notice from the elusive phantom thief."

"Kogorou-jii-san will be there too, so I guess I'll see you there."

"Yeah. Perhaps we can share our findings then," I smirked.

"We'll be there at around 2 in the afternoon…"

"Noted. See you then, meitantei-kun."

"Who were you calling?" asked Kaito-senpai once I hung up.

"A friend." I stood up. "Do you think Nakamori-keibu has already solved this little code?"

He grinned. "Even if he knows from where I will enter the museum and how, he'll definitely brush off some important details…"

"Details," I arched an eyebrow. "Kaito-senpai, it's the only thing written in English."

"Weren't you the one who said something like "look underneath the underneath"?"

"It's "ninjas look underneath the underneath, but warriors look into the core of the matter", Kaito-senpai. You should at least remember the quotes properly."

"Warui, warui. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Ah, dewa matta ne."

oOOo

Hinata-nee-san dropped me off at Beika museum at 1:40. There were many police cars and officers gathered outside, just to capture Kaitou Kid. After a quick body-check, I was able to enter the museum where Chaki-keibu and the Suzuki family were waiting. By then, Mouri-tantei, Ran-san and Conan had already arrived.

"It's the river, the river!" Chaki-keibu shouted. "Phantom thief 1412 is planning to enter here via the Teimutsu River running by this museum! Didn't I tell the police by the river to split up!"

"The Teimutsu River…?" asked the Suzuki Finance Group Chariman.

"Yes… "The calling of the waves" bit in the notice, means that he'll come riding on the Teimutsu river!" the inspector declared. "The only place here with waves is the Teimutsu River!"

Mouri-tantei couldn't hold it in and burst out in laughter.

"Y,You're the Mouri who was at the office…" Chaki-keibu recognized the former officer.

"Don't you get it? A wave to the ocean… The ocean to the open sea…" Mouri-tantei told him. "And a star would be a star, which means… He's talking about Okino Youko, the idol star, who will be performing live starting tomorrow! At the Beika Public Hall!"

"Ano baka…" I face-palmed.

"In addition, it has been decided that her last song will be "Moon Lady"! Which means that phantom thief 1412 will be coming from the public hall vicinity at around 9PM tomorrow night after the concert!"

"Y-You have a point…" Chaki-keibu.

"I knew you'd pull through, meitantei Mouri!" exclaimed Suzuki-san.

"Hey, hey…" Conan protested.

"Ok, groups C-E aggregate around the Beika Public Hall!"

"Right!"

"Heey…" the shrunken detective gave up trying to change their mind.

"Huh? Where's the guy who joined us last month?" Chaki-keibu asked.

"Oh, if you mean the inspector, he took some men and went off this morning…" an officer told him.

"Geez, at a time like this…"

"I don't believe there's any to worry, Chaki-keibu," I told him. "He's the one with the most experience when it comes to catching Kaitou Kid. Second to Saguru-senpai, of course."

"Well…"

"In any case, you still haven't eaten lunch yet and it's already 2:00. Shouldn't you get something to eat while you wait?" I asked while shooting a look at Conan.

oOOo

"Hinata-nee-san, there he is!" I told her as I spotted the tiny detective.

Just before Conan left the museum, I told him that I would pick him up near the Mouri Detective Agency and bring him to Haido Hotel with me. Of course, I made sure that Ran didn't know; she would never let him go out so late. Luckily, Hinata-nee-san is already used to me running around for cases, heists and such, so she volunteered to drive us there.

As the car came to a stop, I opened a door, inviting Conan to come in.

"So you solved it too," I stated as he buckled up.

"Ah. "When the moon splits in half" means the moment when the moon is eclipsed between the sun and the satellite… Which is between 12:30 and 4:00 in the morning, when the BS transmission is interrupted," he told me with confidence.

"The waves in the notice are electric waves, so he'll be coming from that direction," I added. "That's 45° South-West, 42,3° above the horizon."

"And the only place that corresponds is the Haido City Hotel!" he smirked.

I nodded. "Hinata-nee-san, once you drop us off, wait until I call you to pick us up, alright?"

"OK."

"S-Satou-sensei?!" Conan exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Edogawa-kun," she smiled at the rear mirror. "I will pretend that I have nothing to do with your little outing tonight. As far as we're concerned, you didn't come to the Haido City Hotel late sat night and I didn't drive you here."

"A-Arigatou…"

"We're here!" I announced. "Ja ne, nee-san!"

oOOo

We both sped through the hotel and hurried to the roof of the hotel. I've always been envious of Japanese buildings… Why can people go up on their roofs yet that cannot be in America? So unfair…

"The Beika museum is somewhere over there…" Conan declared as he looked towards the helicopters and the lights.

"It's only two minutes before it begins…" I noted as I checked my watch.

Just as Conan prepared his fireworks, the professor called.

"Shinichi-kun! I looked around your father's files and recent newspapers, but Phantom Thief 1412 is completely shrouded in mystery…" Agasa-hakase told him. "The first time he appeared was 18 years ago in Paris… In the 10 years after that, he completely disappeared and rumors of his death were spread around… But now, 8 years later, he's come back, although he's mainly active in Japan…"

"If that was 18 years ago, he must be pretty old now…" Conan mused. "And? Does it say what kind of guy is he?"

"He has many nicknames… "The Modern Day Lupin… "The Moonlit Magician"… But the most popular name is…"

"Popular?"

"Agasa-hakase must be talking about the nickname a young novelist gave the thief by playing around with his 1412 number…" I realized. "KID…"

"Kid?"

"Yes," I smirked as I looked towards the sound of Kaito-senpai's handglider. "Kaitou Kid."

The phantom thief landed on the roof with ease and walked towards with confidence.

"Hey boy…"

Conan lit his lighter.

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

**_Pang!_**

"Fireworks!" he replied in his childish voice.

"Well, lookie there, it's seems that a few helicopters noticed us, Kaito Kid-san," I said nonchalantly.

"Boy, looks like you're not just a normal brat… Your sister neither, I presume?"

"Edogawa Conan…"

"Satou Haruka…"

"Detective…" we finished in synch.

"Wow…"

"Anyway, is it okay?" Conan pointed towards the approaching helicopter. "If you don'T hurry and get away, the helicopter will get here…"

"Hmm…" the thief pretended to ponder as Conan activated his wristwatch. To the boy's surprise, the thief took out a wireless radio and coughed. "Aah! Chaki here! I've found Kaitou Kid on the roof of the Haido City Hotel! Calling all patrols in the Beika Haido areas! And all choppers in the Beika or Haido air space… Get going as fast as possible and capture Kaitou Kid!"

Then he spoke in Nakamori-keibu's voice.

"Aah, it's me! Nakamori! All those in the Haido City Hotel! Kid is on the roof! Send everybody! Go get him!"

Finally, the phantom thief turned off the machine. "Satisfied?"

Helicopters gathered from behind him.

"Tantei-kun? Tantei-chan?"

"Freeze, Kid!" Nakamori-keibu exlcaimed as he came on the roof, handgun in hand.

"Why, if it isn't Nakamori-keibu… You certainly got here quickly…"

"Hmph! What're you saying… You know perfectly well that I solved your little notice and was watching this place…" the inspector replied. "I thought you'd leave from here by hand glider and continue on, so I had increased security around the exit and entrance, but… I never thought you'd detour around Tokyo Tower and land here… But you should give up on that pearl… You have nowhere to run…"

"Tonight was just to see how you would react…" Kaitou Kid revealed. "I have no intention in taking it…"

"What?!"

"What?" the thief pretended not to understand the inspector's confusion. "I'm sure I put it in the notice…" He activated his hand glider. "April Fool…"

"D-Don't let him fly!" Nakamori-keibu exclaimed. "Get him!"

Kaitou Kid just buckled up and let a flash bomb fall…

**_Pow!_**

"A flash bomb?!" Conan exclaimed.

"Hey, you two… Did you know?" the thief asked as he prepared to disappear. "Phantom thieves are artists who creatively steal their targets, but… Detectives don't amount to anything more than critics… who look at the remains and try to find the faults."

"What?!"

I smirked as the light died down. _Good acting, Kaito-senpai. Well, I suppose me too._

"G-GONE?!"

Just as the police was getting frantic over Kid's disappearance, a note with a rose taped on it fell from the sky.

"T-This is!" Nakamori-keibu exclaimed.

"April 19th, I will board the Queen Selizabeth set to depart from Yokohama harbour and take the real Black Star. Kaitou Kid," I read.

oOOo

I sighed as I saw Conan rush out of the room. He must have found out about Kaito-senpai's first disguise. Well, things are just going to become more interesting from here on…

"Ah, Haruka-chan!"

"If it isn't Ran-san," I smiled as the karate champion came towards me with her best friend. "Soshite kochira wa…?"

"Suzuki Sonoko," she introduced herself. "The daughter of the Suzuki Finance Group."

I bowed. "Satou Haruka, 13 years old. Tantei desu."

"So you're here to catch Kaitou 1412 too?" Ran-san asked me.

"Kind of. Saguru-senpai returned to England a while ago and since he used to go after Kid all the time, I thought that I might check this out for him," I replied.

"Kid?" Sonoko-san asked.

"That's his most popular nickname," I explained.

"Conan-kun will be glad to see you again," Ran-san smiled.

"Speaking of which, where is that little brat?" Sonoko-san asked.

"He's gone to the bathroom, but he _is _taking longer than needed…" Ran-san said worriedly. "I'm going to go after him."

"Conan is more mature than most children," I statedas I watched her leave. "She shouldn't need to worry."

"Really?" Sonoko-san asked disbelievingly.

"Well, I wonder who Kid will disguise himself as," I declared as Conan returned to announce that the Suzuki Finance Chairman had been a fake in disguise. I tuned out the conversation until Nakamori-keibu shouted at Mouri-tantei (there's no way to block out that voice of his).

"Hey, Haruka-nee-chan," Conan called out after Suzuki-san gave them the hint about the one who had the pearl in his/her possession. "Who do you think is Kid?"

"It's not Suzuki-san," I declared. "I don't think it's a stranger, not this time."

"Why?"

"I have the feeling that you've peeked Kid's curiosity, maybe I have as well," I told him. "So he's probably going to disguise himself as someone close to us. But that's just a shot in the dark, so there's nothing to be said about that. By the way, do you know these people?"

A man with large eyebrows and a small moustache had just approached Mouri-tantei, as well as a dark-skinned man with a small ponytail.

"Ah, the big one is Hatamoto Shouji, a French cuisine restaurant manager," he told me. "We met him on a case some time ago, one of my first cases as Conan. The other one is Mifune Takuya from the Mifune Electron Industry President. We also met him during a case."

I nodded, pretending to store that information away. "That Mifune-san is quite careful with the pearl, isn't he? Even though it's not necessarily the real one…"

"What? Ayako-san isn't here?" asked a young man.

"Yeah, my sister kina…" Sonoko-san explained.

"And that would be…"

"Sonoko-nee-chan's sister's fiancée," Conan stated. "Honestly, these rich sons and presidents all over the place…"

"…Ran's late…" Mouri-tantei noticed.

"She probably got lost somewhere…" the Suzuki heiress suggested. "Ran doesn't have a good sense of direction…"

"So what if I am!" Ran-san said with a blush.

"Ah, Ran… So, how was it outside?"

"The hallways are full of police…"

"Um, this is Chaki of the police!" the inspector announced as he stood on the stage. "I'm sure some of you have heard already, but that infamous thief has already got on board! As you know, he is a master in disguise! After finding out about the person, he changes his face and can even change his voice to match… He's so evil it can't even be measured! He might even be amongst you right now!"

I sweat-dropped. Kaito-senpai, evil? Annoying as hell, maybe, but evil? The police ought to drop some of their prejudices…

"Normally we would search you all one by one… But we will refrain from that this time… " the inspector continued. "A secret word! Please pair with somebody next to you, and think of a word that only you two will know!"

"I see…" Mouri-tantei realized. "That way, he can't continue to change into different people and the police will have a chance…"

"Now, everyone, a secret word!"

"Well, looks like we're together," Sonoko-san stated as Ran-san paired up with Conan.

"Then, if I say "Fairy"…" I suggested.

"I'll say "Knight"!" the heiress giggled.

Suddenly, the lights turned off.

"What're you guys doing in the power room?!" Nakamori-keibu demanded his subordinates from over the walkie-talkie.

Then, a poof sound was heard and a man dressed in white appeared, surrounded by doves.

"Kaitou Kid?!"

"Heh… Secret words are useless…" he chuckled.

"What?!"

"The "Black Star" is already in my hand…" he showed the brooch.

"No way?!"

"Wow!" Sonoko-san exclaimed.

"My, my, what a troublesome robber," Suzuki-san took out a pistol from beside us. "We'll have to punish such a naughty boy…"

She shot several times, drawing blood. The phantom thief fell onto a table from where he stood, seemingly dead, as the woman blew the smoke coming out from her weapon. The lights came back on for everyone to witness the "corpse" of one Kaitou Kid.

"W-What have you done?!" Nakamori-keibu exlciamed.

"Don't worry, Keibu-san, for he is still alive," Suzuki-san said as the man sat up on the table.

"Huh?"

"My guards cushioned his fall with the tablecloth… After I pretended to shoot him with this model gun…" she explained. "Right… He is a master magician I hired for some entertainment… Sanada Kazumi-kun!"

The man took off his hat to salute the crowd.

"Please give him a hand for acting the part of Kaitou Kid!"

"I see…" said Hatamoto-san. "Kid must be an expert magician, so the role fits…"

"Heh… It's true that both he and I are artists who fool people's eyes," Sanada-san acknowledged as he changed his coat. "But I am a magician… I won't lose to him, who steals for a profession…"

_You forgot to mention that stealing gems is only a night job…_ I thought annoyingly. _And I bet than he can defeat you in a magician showdown._

"Now, everyone, to the stage… I'll show you some magic…" the magician declared. "To start off, I'll do some easy card magic…"

"Wait a sec!" Mifune-san raised his hand as the cards were being shuffled. "I was always very suspicious of people… Could I cut those cards?"

"Hai, dozo…" the cards were handed over to the dark-skinned man. "Would somebody else like to as well?"

Hatamoto-san also shuffled the cards, as did Tomizawa Yuuzou, who dropped them.

"S-Sorry!"

I watched as Ran-san and Sonoko-san bent down to pick the cards, wondering if Conan was going to figure something out soon. He should've started being suspicious from the moment that person said "Lupin".

"No problem… Something as trivial as dropping the cards won't affect my "tsuki"…" the magician said coolly.

"Hey, Kogorou-jii-san, didn't you have a list of the people who are at this party?" Conan asked Mouri-tantei.

"Yeah…"

"We'd like to borrow it for a moment," I told him.

Soon enough, Conan found who he was looking for and returned his gaze to the stage.

I smiled, anticipating the card that was about to be chosen…

**Like Caesar who was fascinated with Cleopatra, I am already beside you… Kaitou Kid.**

"I-It's Kid…"

"Kid has appeared!"

"Calm down everyone, check your secret words!" instructed the inspector. "Hey, Nakamori-kun, it hasn't been already taken, has it?"

"He hasn't taken the pearl, nor has he gotten away," I exchanged a look with Conan. "He's just creating a disturbance and going along at his own pace…"

"Eh?"

"Don't worry," Conan agreed. "We can catch him… He's not a magician… He just uses tricks… because he's human…"

Amidst the confusion, Sonoko-san found out that Ran-san's pearl has disappeared. Noticing it on the floor, she asked someone nearby to pick it up, but it began to emit smoke and exploded.

"Eh? What?"

"What was that noise?"

"The pearl… The pearl exploded!"

""what?!"

"D-Did Kid do something to them…" Hatamoto-san looked at his own pearl as more of them rolled on the floor before exploding, creating more panic.

"This isn't funny!"

"I'm not wearing this!"

One by one, they all threw away their fake pearls.

"Hey, don't push!"

"They're explosives!"

"N-Nigette!"

"M-Minna-san, ochitsuite!" ordered Chaki-keibu. "Ochitsuite!"

Somewhere in the crowd, Suzuki-san was pushed down, but Ran-san helped cushion her fall. That's when I noticed the absence of Suzuki-san's pearl.

"Kyaaaa!" she screamed. "It's Kid! Kid has stolen the Black Star!"

"What?" asked Nakamori-keibu. "Then she had the real.."

Just then, the crowd managed to exit the room in waves and Conan pulled Ran-san away, towards the exit as well. I went after them as Conan told Ran that he figured out Kid's identity.

oOOo

"Hey, Conan-kun?" Ran-san spoke hesitantly. "This is the boiler room! Is Kaitou Kid really here?"

"Say, Ran-nee-chan…" Conan played with his soccer ball. "Do you know about gem meanings?"

"Gem menaings?" she repeated.

"Sonoko-nee-chan's mom gave us a hint," he explained. "The real pearl is entrusted to a very appropriate person…"

"The pearl stands for "woman" and "moon"…" I added.

"The only person on board who has "Tsuki" in their name is Suzuki Tomoko… Which means she has the real one!" Conan concluded.

"Wow…" said Ran. "But how does that help you know Kid's identity?"

"It's the cards…" Conan told her. "Remember, the card you drew had the message on it, right?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"The way the trick works is that he uses the dove in his right hand to distract you, while he switched the cards in his left hand with cards he's already seen," I explained. "It's a basic card trick… So it doesn't matter how or who shuffles or cuts the deck before handing the cards back to him, the card you draw will always be the same."

"T-Then, since the card had the message…" Ran-san realized. "Then Kaitou Kid is that magician…"

"Nope!" Conan declared. "I was watching him the whole time and he never got near her…"

"Then who?"

"Somebody else who could switch the cards…" I smirked. "That someone makes him drop the cards and while pretending to help pick them up, takes a card out and attaches the message to it…"

"Isn't that right, Ran-nee-chan?" Conan asked. "No, Kaito Kid-san?"

"You switched with Ran when she came looking for me," he continued as Kaito-senpai remained silent. "I'm impressed… I didn't notice at all…"

"After disguising yourself, you created a panic by showing that card and by spreading explosive pearls in the room, which means you knew about the mass production of pearls beforehand," I began. "You also stole the pearl while pretending to catch Suzuki-san."

"Stop fooling around, Conan-kun, Haruka-chan," he protested. "I didn't know which was the real one and I didn't even hear the hint…"

"Hn… Even without the hint, you should've known which one was real," the shrunken detective declared. "Because she had gloves when she took out the pearl."

"Huh?"

"Pearls are mostly made of calcium and easily damage upon contact with acid, including the oils on the skin," I stated needlessly. "Not many know that and Suzuki-san cannot entrust this jewel to a stranger."

"But how does that…"

"True, with just that it's not enough information…" Conan admitted. "if if you combine that with the dullness of the pearl she was wearing, you'd know for sure!"

"The color of the old pearl faded, having been exhibited in famous museums. And since the lifespan of a pearl is only a few decades… There's no way the 60 year old Black Star would still be as beautiful as before," I declared. "Seeing her handle that faded pearl so carefully makes it obvious, no?"

"But… The Black Star at the Beika Museum was all shiny…" Kaito-senpai declared.

"That's why you didn't take it, right?" asked Conan. "You knew it was a fake… So in the second notice, you provocated her into bringing the real one… by saying "the real pearl"…"

"A-All right," the thief picked up the nearby phone. "If you doubt me that much, I'll call the police here…"

Conan's soccer ball broke the phone with full force, leaving Kaito-senpai speechless at the boy. Speaking of which, I _did_ omit to tell him certain details about the shrunken meitantei.

"Hmph… You won't use the same trick you used to get away when we were on the roof…" the boy smirked. "That time, you didn't call the police to please me… You did that so that you could quickly change into a police uniform after you used the flash bomb! Distracting them by making it look like you were going to escape on the hand glider! Besides, calling someone here is totally unrefined considering I went to respecting the artist to the crime, and called you out to a one on one battle, even though we're in the middle of a panic…"

"Right…" He continued. "Most of the great artists became known after they died… I'll make you into a mastermind, Kaitou Kid… By sending you to a graveyard called prison…"

"Heh… You got me…" Kid raised both of his hands, one in which was the real Black Star. "I'll give up on this pearl… Tell the missus that I'm sorry for ruining her party…" he added as he passed me the pearl.

"Isn't that a bit late?" I asked.

"Ah, that's right, the girl I borrowed these clothes from, she's sleeping in a lifeboat…" the elusive thief added as he pulled the collar of the dress. "If you don't hurry up, she'll catch cold."

He took out part of a laced bra with a grin. "I'm a perfectionist."

Just then, the thief threw another bomb.

"A flash bomb?!" Conan said as he covered his eyes from the sudden light.

Once it was gone, Ran-san's clothes fell towards the floor.

"Conan, I'll go after him!" I told the seven-year-old. "You take care of Ran-san!"

"I got it!" he replied as I rushed out of the boiler room.

Though I wasn't too certain where Kid was hiding, I ran towards the deck since he ended swimming back to shore in the manga. Just as I was about to turn at the corner, someone suddenly pulled me back.

"K-Kaitou Kid?" I exclaimed before he shushed me.

"Honestly, Haruka-chan, why didn't you tell me about that brat!" he complained once he was certain that there were no officers around.

"If I did, it would have given you an advantage, right?" I reminded him. "I don't intervene in heists, I'm just a spectator. This is a special case, since Saguru-senpai insisted on me writing a report about this."

"You've got to be kidding me," he deadpanned as we went to the deck.

"Not at all. He told me that when I mentioned your heist notice for April Fool."

"That meddlesome Brit…"

"In any case, it seems this isn't it either, huh?" I said as I looked at the pearl.

"It's not see-through anyways," he shrugged. "There are still many jewels to go."

"Be careful on your way back."

"Ah. That hand glider of mine will be of no use at this point…" he sighed.

I took out a small pendant from my coat's pocket. "Here."

"What's this?" Kaito-senpai inspected it.

"It's a charm I had Akako-san make for you just in case. It repels fish, so you should be able to make to land easily enough," I told him. "Especially since we're not that far from harbor… Jii-san should be able to take it from there."

"Thanks," he put it on. "But just to be safe…"

"You best hurry and put me to sleep then, Kaitou-san," I crossed my arms with a smile.

"Indeed."

A puff of smoke then my vision became blurry. Before I completely lost consciousness, I felt Kaito-senpai steady me and put me on the ground. Then, I knew no more.

oOOo

"…ruka-san… Haru… Haruka-san… Haruka-san!"

"C-Conan?" I opened my eyes groggily. "What are you doing…" I noticed that I was in the infirmary. "Oh yeah… Kaitou Kid put me to sleep…"

"It seems the pearl's safe too," he noted as his gaze turned to my fist which held the pearl.

"It seems so…" I opened my hand. "Sumimasen, Conan. I let him get away."

"It's fine; we got the Black Star back after all," he reassured me.

"I suppose…" I smiled. "Are we back yet?"

"Almost. The police is looking all over for Kaitou Kid and they'll probably question you afterwards."

"Well, you can't say that elusive phantom thief is boring," I commented.

"He's more trouble than he's worth."

I giggled. "Well, it's a nice change from murder cases, isn't it?"

"I suppose…"

I smiled at his pride.

Though he hasn't gotten a very good impression of the thief, I'm glad that he's at least been able to meet him face to face and judge him accordingly. I'll have to wait for them to meet at least once more before trying to form an alliance between them.

* * *

**chibianimefan26**

**There will certainly be other instances where Haruka's new abilities will be used. Hopefully, the Organization won't know what hit them.**

**Drinkdrak**

**Thank you for reviewing!**

**So KID and Conan finally meet! It'll be a while before they begin to work together though... I really don't know when I should have meet as potential allies and it's absolutely nerve-racking :( **

**Like I've mentioned earlier, events in the manga won't necessarily take place in chronological order, but this won't interfere with the plot as a whole.**

**If you wish to comment or ask questions, feel free to do so.**

**Coming up: A French Interlude**


	12. A French Interlude

**A short chapter for the start of the weekend! I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own DC, but everyone knows that, right?**

* * *

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

**_Chapter Eleven - A French Interlude_**

* * *

_It should be about time for me to intervene_, I thought as I looked at my watch. _He should have called him by now, since it's been nearly half an hour since the new chapter should have arrived by fax._

**_Dring-dring!_**

"Moshi moshi?"

"Excuse me for disturbing you," I said as I entered the Haido City Hotel. This is really an important setting for the series, isn't it? "I know how to solve the code in Shinmei-sensei's Climax 1/2."

"Is that so? Please wait a moment," the man on the other side tried to muffle the speaker. "Excuse me, keibu, there's another person who said that she knows how to decipher the code. It seems to be a young girl this time…"

"Hello, Megure speaking."

"Megure-keibu, it's been a while."

"Haruka-chan? First Hattori-kun just called, now you…"

"Since Heiji-senpai already called, I guess that you already know about the first part of the code, don't you?" I asked as I went in the elevator.

"Yes, the one that can be solved with the title," he confirmed.

"The second code is also quite easy, once you take the setting for the dialogues in account," I told him.

"What do you mean?"

"Can you put this on speaker? I'd like the others to listen to this as well."

"How did you know that - ?"

"If an inspector of the 1st division such as yourself is at the edition bureau, then Mouri-tantei should be there too, no?" I told him. "And along with him, his client, his daughter, Ran-san, and Conan…"

"I see… **Bip.** Okay, the speaker's on now."

"Like I told Megure-keibu earlier, the second part of the code can be simply solved by the setting of the dialogue scenes with Shinmei-san," I declared. "They all take place in France, correct?"

"Yes… but what…"

"In French, there is one letter we do not pronounce when placed at the beginning of the word. The eight letter of the alphabet, "H"."

"H?"

"Eliminate the "H", or, to be precise, all words containing the silent "H". Once you combine that with the first part of the code, you will obtain Shinmei-sensei's location."

"So… That means, in the second scene…" Megure-keibu mused.

"**Watashi** and **hoka** makes **watashi**, **I** and **ka** makes **ga**, **he** and **ima** makes **ima**… **I** and **haku **makes **I**, **re **and **no** makes **ru**, **tokoro** and **han** makes **tokoro**, **hito** and **wa** makes **wa**…" I deduced. "Put it all together and you read… "Watashi ga ima tokoro wa"…"

"It works! So it's: "The place where I am now…"!"

"Wow, it becomes a sentence!" Ran-san exclaimed.

"I see, he made sure **ha** at the end was written **wa** so it wouldn't be ignored…" Mouri-tantei noticed.

"All right, if we continue it on like this…" Megure-keibu declared. "We can decipher the message of the 3rd scene of Shinmei-san's appearance… "Kito shitei hoteru…" Kito City Hotel? Never heard of it…"

"Maybe it's the Hepburn system of romanization!" a woman, most likely Shinmei-sensei's daughter, exlcimaed. "In that case, the **hu** becomes **fu** and it's not taken out… So you add it to the next letter and you get **hai**…"

"It's the Haido City Hotel!" Megure-keibu realized.

"So the next scene probably contains the room number…" guessed Mouri-tantei.

"Inspector!" Takagi-keiji called out. "The chapter 8 that just arrived also contained Shinmei-san's dialogue! This is the scene…"

"…Room number… 2407…"

"Hear that! Head immediately to Haido City Hotel room number 2407!" Megure-keibu ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

"I'm already in the hotel, so I'll head there first," I told them before hanging up in front of the room.

The door was opened after I knocked the second time, revealing an elderly woman who still retained some beauty from her youth. Shinmei-sensei's oku-san.

"Ah, hello, may I ask who are you?"

"Watashi no namae wa Satou Haruka desu," I bowed. "Tantei sa."

Her eyes widened and she quickly ushered me inside.

"So you've figured out the code… My husband is going to be so happy to meet you…"

"Ah, dear, who was it?" Shinmei-sensei asked from his bed.

"Satou Haruka desu," I bowed. "Tantei desu."

"Tantei…?" his eyes widened. "So you've figured it out… the code…"

"I suppose you can say that," I smiled. "Your daughter should be arriving with two other detectives as well as the police. They currently believe that the both of you have been confined inside this suite and are rushing from the publishing company. They should be here momentarily, so please wait for them to come."

"Is that all you wanted to say?" he asked.

"…Hai. I want you to have your wish granted and I want you to see your daughter once last time before you go," I told him. "This way… All three of you should be able to have some peace of mind…"

He didn't reply as his eyes tried to uncover my reasons for acting like that.

"It has been a pleasure meeting you, Shinmei-sensei," I bowed. "But I will have to leave now. Shitsureishimasu."

I quickly left the hotel by the stairs to avoid confronting Conan and the others. I did what I had planned to do, so there was no need for me to stay. Ironically, though I've allowed a family one last reunion, I'm the reason why another is still separated.

oOOo

_"Tadaima," Hinata-nee-san announced once she entered the aapartment. "Are you home, Haruka-chan?"_

_"Yes, okaerinasai," I greeted as I came out of the kitchen. "You look brighter than usual; did something good happen today?"_

_"Yes," she put down her purse in the living room. "I have a new student today. She's in Conan's class and her name is Haibara Ai."_

_"Haibara, ka…" I smiled. "So you recognized her then."_

_"She looked just as she did when she was little," Hinata-nee-san giggled. "But her face is so much more serious than back then…"_

_"Did you contact her yet?" I asked as I set the ingredients on the kitchen counter._

_"Iie. I thought that I should confirm whether it is her first."_

_"I see…" I began cutting some vegetables. "I know it's not my place to interfere with your family affairs, but I don't think you should reveal yourself to her. At least, not just yet."_

_"Haruka-chan?"_

_"At this point in the Plot, the crows believe that Shiho has escaped from their grasp, possibly with the aid of another," I told her. "They're hot on her trail right now, and they know what she looked like when she was little. Even if they didn't, the resemblance is too big to pass it off as a coincidence. Of course, the fact that there is a child model named Aihara who looks just like her doesn't count."_

_"True. Knowing Gin, he wouldn't let it slide so easily," she said pensively. "And since he's the most likely person to be sent after my imouto, she's in even greater danger."_

_"Eventually, the Organization will stop sniffing for her in the capital," I declared as I began boiling some water. "If you wish to reveal yourself by that time, it would be safest. Of course, in the end, it's your decision…"_

_"I won't tell her yet," Hinata-nee-san replied. "If the Organization happen to find out about my being alive, this will put the Kuroba family in more danger than they are in now. After everything we owe them, the least we can do is keep them away from this."_

_"Conan should contact me about Haibara soon enough," I said as I finished putting the ingredients in the pot. "As far as he is concerned, you don't know about the Organization, but we can trust you to drive us around if needed. As for Kaito-senpai-tachi, you are a former member of the Organization and an ally. He doesn't know who your sister is yet, but once he finds out about her, he'll connect the dots. When that happens, I should have warned him about keeping you a secret."_

_"You have everything planned out, as usual," she commented as she entered the kitchen to help._

_"I do have a certain amount of free time," I reminded her. "Kaito-senpai should be coming over a bit later. He's doing a survey for his next heist."_

oOOo

It's been more than a month since I had been saved by the girl who suddenly appeared before me. She told me an insane story, yet, despite being the victim of unkind circumstances, she took things in stride and managed to formulate the plan which saved my life. She continued to walk forward every day, as though she was invincible, but behind closed doors, she was just as fragile as any thirteen-year-old girl.

Haruka-chan was a true surprise. She knew how to use the cards she held and she understood the risks she took, even just by being here. Other children her age would probably have made huge mistakes or cowered in fear of the Organization.

She was far beyond her age, much like my own sister. Maybe that was why I found it so easily to communicate with her. Many times I looked at her, and I imagined Shiho sitting in her place, laughing with me, without a care in the world. Then the illusion would vanish, leaving Satou Haruka and Satou Hinata in its stead.

Satou Hinata… Was it even her real name? What kind of life did she lead before landing in this world? What kind of people were her friends, her family?

I knew only the "her" she lets me see under her disguise. A cheerful, energetic girl with an intelligent mind and great deductive abilities. Though she admitted that she mostly relied on her knowledge when it came to crimes of the Plot, there was no denying the talent she had after all of the cases she solved for Hakuba-kun.

But somewhere under that mask, there was a sad girl, unable to cry. And it was that girl I wanted to console and protect.

Before long, we became true siblings, though not related by blood. I could talk to her about almost anything, since she knew most of it anyways. She would also open up during those conversations and reveal snippets of her past life.

Her best and only friends were twins named Lea and Helena. They were Americans of Chinese descent who, like her, also had a love for books. The three had met when they were young and retained their friendship ever since. When things got tough, it was they who saved her from the brink of despair. However, their current location was unknown but Haruka-chan was certain that they haven't appeared in this world.

"After all," she told me back then. "If they had then they would either contact Kaito-senpai or Conan. It's been a few weeks, and there are no signs of them around. Knowing Helena, they would have probably been pulled in some cases like me."

Lea was somewhat more submissive, but also stubborn. Helena was obviously the leader between the two and the one with the most knowledge of the "Detective Conan" manga. They were like yin and yang, she'd commented. Haruka-chan got along well with either of them, but it was Helena who brought her out of her shell, while Lea was always a silent supporter.

In fact, the bracelet Haruka-chan always wore was a token of friendship. It was a leather bracelet with shells and beautiful patterns that the two had made for her tenth birthday, a few weeks before her father had died.

She never told me everything and was especially brief when it came to her family. She would rarely speak of the Plot, if ever. As far as she was concerned, the less people who know what the "future" will hold, the more likely the original Plot will continue. Since her knowledge won't be useful once big changes are made, she would only mention things when it's relevant.

Still, I wish that she would take better care of herself. During the Holmes case, she suffered an injury after protecting someone. She wasn't only hurt during cases though. Lately, she's been out very late for kami knows what reason. She would often come back with bruises and scratches. Nothing too serious, but the fact that not even Kaito-kun knows what was going on is worrying. Apparently, it always happens after her lessons with him and after dinner.

Oh, Haruka-chan, what shall we do with you?

* * *

**I will be adding some snippets with other characters' POVs again eventually... I'm really tired, so I won't be saying much now...**

**Please favorite, follow and/or review.**

**Please?**


	13. Trip to Osaka: The Case

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

_**Chapter Twelve - Trip to Osaka: The Case**_

* * *

"That is tha imperial temple's zoological garden! And that's Osaka Dome! And here's tha Tsutentaku!" Hattori Heiji, 16 years old, showed with pride. "So? Ain't Osaka a great place?!"

"What a great panorama!" Ran complimented.

"That's right, but it's not really different from Tokyo Tower…" Mouri Kogorou commented.

"Ya jokin'?" the dark-skinned teen laughed. "Yer not goi' ta compare tha Tsutentaku ta that old thing?"

"It's true that it's quite different from Tokyo Tower," I admitted as I looked down towards the streets. When Heiji-senpai called me, I was honestly excited to finally visit Osaka. I've never traveled as a tourist before coming to Japan, so being able to come to Osaka like this is a dream come true. Iie, even in my wildest fantasies have I ever imagined being able to do such a thing…

"It is, isn't it?" Heiji-senpai grinned from ear to ear. "Here and in all the new avenue around the Tsutentaku, you can find the real spirit of Osaka!"

"It reminds me of old Tokyo!" Ran exclaimed.

"Really?" I said thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, I've never even _been_ to old Tokyo with how busy I am…"

"No way!" Ran-san exclaimed as Conan pulled the Osakan detective away. "Even a high school detective like you should have some free time…"

"I used to," I told her sheepishly. "But lately, I'm either being swarmed with lessons, cases, homework or training. At this rate, I'll start developing the habit of sleeping in class in no time!"

"You've got to be kidding me," the karate champion shook her head. "And what kind of lessons and training is keeping you so busy?"

I thought for a bit before replying. "Well… I've been training in hand-to-hand combat lately… I've also been collecting all kinds of data on cases that I've been filing away in my room…"

"You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?" Ran-san said in admiration.

"You can never be too careful," I smiled.

"Hey, if you want, we can spar sometime, Haruka-chan," she suggested. "That way, you can improve faster, right?"

I nodded enthusiastically as we shook hands. "It's a deal!"

"Sorry Heiji!" a man shouted as he ran towards our group. I narrowed my eyes behind my fake glasses. Sakata Yusuku, age 26, policeman. I'll have to act careful around him…

"Here he is at last!" Heiji-senpai declared in a theatrical way.

"Konnichiwa, I'm Inspector Sakata. Sorry I'm late!" the policeman replied sheepishly.

"What are you doing here?" Ran-san asked cautiously.

"It's because of my parents!" Heiji-senpai replied happily (maybe a bit _too_ happily…). "They told me: «If Mouri-tantei comes, we must show him Osaka!»" He then turned towards our chauffeur. "So? And my parents? They said they'd come, didn't they?"

"Your father had a meeting about the last accident…"

_They must mean the wallet-knife serial murders…_ I frowned.

"Ok, and the car? Did ya get it?"

"Yes, no problem!" Sakata-keiji replied enthusiastically. "I did what ya asked me… I took the best…"

"Eh oh… Don't tell me the car…"

For once, Mouri-tantei is the sharp one.

"Ikimashou!"

oOOo

It wasn't my first time in a police car… I often joined Satou-keiji or Megure-keibu during cases, but at least their models are less conspicuous than this Panda…

"I don't have ta say it… Police cars are luxurious!" the excited detective exclaimed. "With them, no more traffic jams! Ok everyone, where do ya want to go?"

"You…" Mouri-tantei growled annoyingly. "'cause you want to make us visit Osaka in a police car?!"

"What, don'tcha like it?" the teen asked. "Latest model… Brand-new!"

"Heiji-senpai, I don't think that's what he was talking about," I told him as I flipped over another page of my latest Cordelia Grey novel. "And please don't think about putting the siren so we can hurry. It's troublesome enough as it is…"

"Haruka-chan is right…" Ran-san said nervously. "I feel like a robber… and I feel bad…"

"Don't worry! Anyways, ya didn't do anything bad, right? So stay calm and that's all!"

"Easy for you to say…" I sighed between Ran-san and Mouri-tantei. "You aren't sitting at the rear… nor do you care that much about public opinion anyways…"

"Haruka-chan, how can you be so calm?" Ran-san asked.

"Easy. My eyes are focused on a book and can easily ignore the stares from the people outside," I stated evenly. "Unlike you who are actually looking outside."

"S-Sou da ne…"

I closed my book. "Well, there's not much that can be done… We're already in the car anyways, so why dwell on it? Wouldn't it be best to look forward to eating lunch instead?"

"That's tha spirit, Haruka-chan!"

"But it's true that you're acting waaay too happy though…"

"Oi!"

oOOo

After eating some udon and takoyaki, we've finally arrived at the okonomiyaki restaurant. The first time I went out for okonomiyaki was when Hinata-nee-san took me out to celebrate. I can't wait to try Osakan okonomiyaki…

"Osaka's fun," Conan commented.

"Yes," Ran-san replied with a smile.

Just then, another girl sat down at our table with no warning whatsoever.

"So yer "Kudou Haruka"…" she mused.

"Eh?"

"Heiji won't stop talking about ya!" she continued somewhat snobbishly. "All the time…"

I resisted the urge to laugh at Conan's reaction since both he and Ran-san sat opposite to me. He must have thought that his identity has been revealed…

"Euh, wait…" he protested futily.

"Don't pretend ya don't understand," she continued. "I know everything…"

Must… resist… Must not laugh…

"Yer name's Kudou Haruka and after meetin' you, Heiji was overwhelmed!"

"It's a mistake…" Ran-san tried to placate her.

"Since yer here, let me tell ya!" the girl continued without paying any heed to her protests. "Heiji and I were once attached with metal… So before ya hurt Heiji again, ya'll have ta kill me!"

Possessive… much?

"So, Kazuha?" Heiji-senpai appeared from behind us. "Whatcha doin'?"

That's when I could no longer hold it in. Though I already knew the scene would happen in advance, Kazuha's serious expression as she said it all… It was so funny! I laughed so hard that I almost cried.

Heiji-senpai burst out in laughter too, once he understood what was going on.

"Oh, she's too funny!" he exclaimed. "That Kudou I talk about so often… he's a boy! A boy! And she's his girlfriend!" he pointed towards Ran-san.

"What?!"

"His girlfriend?" asked Kazuha curiously.

"No, not at all!"

"Ya see, she said she ain't his girlfriend!"

"Ran-san is easily embarrassed when we mention her future marriage with one Kudou Shinichi," I explained with a teasing grin. "See? She's as red as a tomato!"

"This gal here's Haruka-chan!" Heiji-senpai introduced me.

"Domo, Satou Haruka desu," I nodded.

"Anyways, why didn'tcha invite Kudou too?" asked Kazuha-san.

"Well… He's a bit…" Heiji-senpai tried to answer.

"Shinichi-senpai is overwhelmed with cases," I replied in his stead. "He's been very busy lately so people usually can't contact him."

"Hey, could you tell us the "metal" story?" Ran-san asked to change the subject.

"Ah! When we were kids, we found my ojii-han's old handcuffs… We were playin' cops and ended up handcuffed tagether," Heiji-senpai summarized. "It's nothin' interestin', really!"

"No! It isn't!" Kazuha-san blushed. "At those times we went ta tha lu tagether, we had baths tagether…"

"Are ya mad tellin' them that?!"

"Baths? Toilets?"

"I kept a piece of it 'round my neck as a souvenir!" she showed the charm proudly.

"Ya should throw that dirty old thin'."

"Say…" Ran-san began. "In fact, you're going out together?"

"Eh?"

"Chao, chao!" Kazuha-san waved her hand. "I'm just like a big sister! We're just old friends!"

"Whatcha talkin' about?" Heiji-senpai asked her. "Her father's the principal inspector at the Prefecture and works with mine so we've known each other for a long time!"

"Aah…" Mouri-tantei understood. "A high school detective and the daughter of an inspector… It won't work."

"Why, I think it's good!" Ran-san declared.

"It's not as though it's a criminal dating the daughter of an inspector… Or the son of an inspector dating a criminal…" I shrugged. "What? You have to admit that Heiji-senpai and Kazuha-san's relationship is more likely to work out!"

"Yer mind works strangely, ya know?" Heiji-senpai deadpanned.

"So?"

"Yer a hopeless case…" he turned towards Kazuha-san. "So whatcha doin' here anyways?"

"Here, it's onee-han speakin'. I was makin' sure you weren't gonna be mistreated by a Tokyo girl!"

"Since when have ya been followin' me?"

"Since the Tsutentaku…"

oOOo

People drop dead around meitantei in the Detective Conan world; it's a well-known fact. Let's take Hattori Heiji for example; he's solved around 1000 cases, most of which are murder cases that he encountered. Or one could look at Kudou Shinichi's record, who, being the main protagonist of a 890 so chapters ongoing manga series, attracts the dead as though he had a disease.

In fact, some fans of the franchise have dubbed the "disease" in question the Kudou syndrome, the Death Plague or the Detective illness 101 amongst others. Of course, it's not really an illness, but can be qualified as such since it only affects detectives of that certain franchise. Not just any detectives either, good high school detectives who have had contact with Kudou Shinichi. Like me.

But we're getting out of the main subject here.

To sum up the situation, after Kazuha-san joined us in the car – I don't believe that four adults and one child sitting in the rear seat is legal in Japan – a man, tied up like a sausage, fell onto the police car. Not just any car, the _police car_.

The fact that he was stabbed by a knife which also went through his wallet wasn't important at all. It's not like that was the connection between all victims of this serial murder case or the main clue that will help Heiji-senpai and Conan find the murderer.

"Who's this man?!" Mouri-tantei asked once we were out of the vehicle.

"I don't know! He fell on tha car!" Heiji-senpai replied as he looked around. "From the roof of this building!"

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me or is there someone up there?" I asked calmly before the other two detectives raced into the aforementioned building. I suppose it can't be helped… "Sakata-keiji, please contact the police," I said before turning towards the surrounding crowd. "And all of you! Please do not go beyond this line as to not contaminate the crime scene!" I drew a big circle around the car with a chalk I had stuffed in my pockets when I left home. "If any of you recognize the victim, please come forward!"

Only moments later, Heiji-senpai and Conan returned with the man I had seen on the roof, a chef of the okonomiyaki restaurant.

"What? Someone asked him to go up?" Mouri-tantei asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, he just went up 'cause someone called him and told him there was someone strange there," Heiji-senpai confirmed while pointing towards the man in question.

"Yes, I'm a chef of the first floor!"

"It didn't fall on its own, did it?" Mouri-tantei remained skeptical.

"Heiji-senpai, the trick wouldn't happen to be the one from the Hanaoka case, would it?" I crossed my arms. "The one where the culprit attaches the body to the door with a rope, hides the body under a blanket and once the door is open, the body will fall."

"Yup! It's the one Kudou…" he continues nervously. "I mean, Mouri-san solved…"

"From what I was able to see, the victim died around 24 hours ago," I revealed.

"So he must've been up there with his murderer yesterday," the Osakan detective guessed.

"Why on a police car?" asked Sakata-keiji.

I rolled my eyes since no one was looking at me anymore. Geez… Why don't _you_ tell us?

"Tha car it fell on was chosen randomly, but this kind of thing could become a warnin' 'cause it would end up in tha papers," Heiji-senpai explained.

"A warning?" asked Conan.

"Yup, a knife goes through a wallet into the heart," the detective summarized. "It must have something ta do with that other case…"

As I looked around in the crowd, I noticed Okazaki Sumie trembling before bolting away. The Heiji-senpai noticed her too and called out to her, but the lady was too fast and drove away before he could catch up.

"Ah, she's gone!"

"Daijobou…" Conan reassured him. "I've got her car number. But Hattori, tell me about the other case you were talking about!"

"I'd like to hear it too, if you don't mind, Heisei Holmes of the West," I added nonchalantly.

oOOo

"Serial murders?!"

"So that guy's the third," Mouri-tantei checked.

"Yes. In all cases the knife goes through a wallet into the heart after the strangulation of the victim," Heiji-senpai confirmed.

We had headed to a nearby police station after Heiji-senpai decided to tell us about the _real_ reason he invited us over. Sakata-keiji was speaking with another officer and giving details about the case.

"A wallet…" Ran-san was pensive.

"Isn't it revenge compared to money?" asked Kazuha-san boringly.

"We can't prove that," Heiji-senpai retorted before continuing his explanation. "Convenience store owner Nagao Hidetoshi, bartender Nishigushi Tayo and taxi driver Nayasu Kazuto. They weren't rich enough for it ta have anything ta do with money. And so far, we haven't found any links between them at all."

"None?" asked Mouri-tantei worriedly.

"They were all born in Osaka but totally different places. Same goes for the rest of their lives."

"Heiji, we found it!" Sakata-keiji returned happily. "We found a link!"

"Is it true?!" asked the detective.

"Yes, look at this!" Sakata-keiji showed the cassette tape.

"A video?"

"I made a TV channel lend it to me!"

I frowned. This is when Sakata-keiji tries to make Heiji-senpai disregard the possibility it could have anything to do with the driver licences. Yet he was the one who made the police focus on the meaning of the wallet and the driver's licence by mentioning it to Conan and Heiji-senpai afterwards.

I tuned out the others as they watched the video, re-reading the case in my mind. What could I do to stop the fourth murder from being committed, or at least postpone it long enough for the culprit to be caught? It would be too suspicious if I remained in the car and Heiji-senpai would pull me out anyways... Even more so if, instead of heading towards the apartment, headed to the park where the deed will be done. If I said that I felt something wrong, it would only make them more likely to take me along. Will I have to let this person die as well?

"Then can I come too, Sakata?!"

Heiji-senpai's voice brought me out of my musings. So they have decided to contact the deputy Gouchi Sotaro-san… I should join them. Better try than not do anything at all. Inaction _is_ what helps evil deeds be done without consequences.

"Who do you think I am?" the high school detective asked. "Do ya think that I will let tha person who mixed up your trip ta Osaka go that easily? Kazuha will give you my address, wait for me at home!"

"Take me along then, Heiji-senpai," I proposed. "Two detectives are better than one, right?"

"Nah, this is my territory," he told me. "You should stay here with the girls."

"Ah, Heiji," Kazuha-san called out as he was about to leave. "Do ya have tha lucky charm?"

"Yes, don't worry!" he replied. "See ya."

"The lucky charm?" Ran-san asked once they left.

"It's a lucky charm I gave him. It always saved his life!"

"His life? Don't exaggerate," Mouri-tantei scoffed.

"Not at all! Tha only time he forgot it, he got hurt in a kendo match!" Kazuha-san declared. "It's very precious. There are only two."

"Two?" Ran-san repeated curiously.

"Remember I told you about that time we were handcuffed together?" the Osakan girl smiled. "I hid some pieces in it."

"Oh…"

"Then again, it's none of yer business."

"That's true!" Ran-san admitted.

"By the way, where's the kid?" Mouri-tantei asked out of nowhere.

"Heh?"

"Is he in the loo?" asked Kazuha-san.

"If it's Conan you're looking for, Heiji-senpai probably abducted him," I stated boringly. "They've been quite taken to each other since we first met. You needn't worry; he should be fine. Anyways, I should be heading out as well."

"Eh? But why?" asked Ran-san.

"I have an appointment with a certain person," I lied as I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. "I was debating on whether to call him to cancel it, but since I'm not going to be investigating that case, I might as well go."

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" asked Mouri-tantei skeptically.

"No worries," I waved. "I have Ran-san, Heiji-senpai and Conan's numbers and vice-versa. It'll be fine."

Once I was a certain distance from the police station, I flipped open my phone. Saguru-senpai sent me a new message.

"The client is Deputy Gouchi Sotaro's secretary, Hagoroshi Takuya, age 37. He will discuss the case with you once you call him with this number…" I read. "Looks like I have work to do. But first…"

I replied to his message before hailing a taxi.

**Senpai, thanks for the case. I'll take care of it immediately. If you can, please find the number of one Okazaki Sumie, 39 years old and Osaka resident. Her car number is 40-96 and she had seminars in Nogyo's driving classes. Once you find her number, please call her and warn her not to leave until the high school detective from the earlier murder scene lets her do so. Even if the police tells her that the murderer is coming near, she must not panic and remain inside as there are people posted nearby for her protection.**

oOOo

Once I arrived at the restaurant the secretary, Hagoroshi-san, told me to go, I sat down and ordered a cup of tea. He said that he will be arriving a few minutes after me, so there is not much I can do other than going over the current case again.

It's been fifteen minutes since I left the police station, which means the Okazaki Sumie could have lost her life if everything went as it did in canon. On my way here, I sent a message to Heiji-senpai and Conan telling them to send me any information pertaining the case. Saguru-senpai had also informed me that he has done as I said. Hopefully, everything will be fine.

"Are you Satou Haruka-san?" a man asked me as I recalled the events in the manga timeline.

"Yes," I stood up and held out my hand. "Satou Haruka, high school detective. It's a pleasure to meet you, Hagoroshi-san. Please take a seat."

He was a bit hesitant but still sat down, nervously casting glances around us.

"Are you really a detective?" Hagoroshi-san asked once he was sure that no one was eavesdropping.

"Yes, I'm Hakuba Saguru's assistant," I told him. It wasn't rare that people doubt my credibility upon our first meeting, especially if they've never heard of me. Some people have enough of a hard time coping with high school detectives from fifteen to seventeen years old. I'm only thirteen. "Would you like some tea before we start discussing the case?"

"No, it's fine," he rejected my offer. "I have to hurry back soon anyways. I don't have much time."

"Well then, what can I do for you?"

oOOo

"Here we are," Hagoroshi-san declared when the taxi stopped in front of a traditional Japanese style mansion.

After Hagoroshi-san told me his boss' strange behaviour concerning the recent murder cases, I decided to go to the Gouchi household to confront the deputy himself. It didn't take that long to convince the secretary as he was truly in a hurry to get back. However, the confrontation with Gouchi-san will be anything but pleasant.

oOOo

**_Bzzz!_**

I took out my phone to see a message from Conan. There was a photo mail as well, most likely the picture with all of the students in the driving class 20 years ago… There was also the hypothesis concerning the driver's licence involvement in the case and how they planned to confront Deputy Gouchi about it.

"Well, little girl, when are ya gonna to leave?" the deputy asked me irritably. "I've lost enough time babysittin' ya."

"Not until you tell me about the incident 20 years ago," I replied calmly. "Or more specifically, the identity of the person who would have a grudge over it."

"Ya really think yer a detective," he scoffed.

"20 years ago, you and some fellow classmates made your driver instructor drunk and took away the braking liquid which resulted in an "accident" which ended said instructor's life," I replied calmly. "Now, 20 years later, someone has come out for revenge because of that and has been killing your former classmates one by one. The next one, according to that phone call earlier, will most likely be you."

"H-How did ya find out?" Gouchi-san demanded. "Who else knows?!"

"The police doesn't… yet."

"Then yer planning on telling them?!"

"They will find out about it, regardless of my involvement," I told him coolly. "I suggest surrendering yourself to the officers waiting outside. That way, your sentence will be lightened to a certain extent and the murderer sooner caught."

"Never, I'll never tell tha police! Didn't ya say that they will know anyways?!"

"True enough," I stood up. "Now if you would excuse me… The time is quickly drawing near."

I left the room and met with the officers outside. Heiji-senpai and Sakata-keiji had arrived earlier but the first followed the latter to the toilet just moments ago. Realizing what it meant, I rushed to the warehouse. I was able to arrive in the middle of Heiji-senpai's explanation somehow.

"When did ya realize, Heiji?"

"Firstly, tha rearview mirror in tha rented car… Tha second time it was at a different angle…" Heiji-senpai declared. "And when I looked at tha faxed photo, I noticed this: yer face resembled tha monitor's who died 20 years ago… What's more, the tics ya have when ya get in tha car… Like Noyasu an' Okazaki, ya check tha rearview mirror… Proof that ya had the same monitor…"

Seeing Sakata-keiji so focused on Heiji-senpai, I crept against the wall, in between them.

"I don't know what happened 20 years ago, but shouldn't ya better surrender, Sakata?" Heiji-senpai asked.

"Warui, Heiji…" Sakata-keiji closed his eyes and his hand grasped a gun before taking it out.

I'm not the type to be impulsive and charge without any second thoughts. In fact, I tend to overthink, according to Helena. But that didn't stop me from knocking the gun out of Sakata-keiji's hand and holding him down before he could put the barrel next to his temple.

"N-Nani?"

"Heiji-senpai, please help me restrain him," I told the detective as Sakata-keiji began to struggle.

"Y-Yea…"

Once Heiji-senpai was the one doing the restraining, I called the officers inside the mansion out to arrest Sakata-keiji for murdering three civilians and two attempted murders (it seemed that Saguru-senpai was not able to convince Okazaki-san to remain in her apartment calmly, but was able to direct her to another safe place).

"Tha monitor who died 20 years ago was my father…" Sakata-keiji began to speak after realizing that there was no way out. "He was very strict about drivin' and often told my mother ta check the rear-view mirror; that's where my tic comes from…"

He chuckled dryly. "Could you believe such a man would drive when he was drunk? That's why I became an officer… Ta discover the truth… And I discovered that truth when I found Namabuchi in a hut in tha mountain… When he saw my face so like my father's, he confessed everythin'…"

"And you wanted ta kill all the six people who were on tha joke…" Heiji-senpai concluded.

"Prescription for murder is only 16 years… By the time you found out, it was already too late to do anything about it," I added.

"Yes… That's why… That's why, instead of justice… I pronounced tha sentence… And I… I'm sorry I used ya Heiji."

"Stop being stupid!" Heiji-senpai exploded. "Yer an officer! Officers in Japan are tha only ones authorized to wear a gun… Why aren'tcha prouder of yer job? Yer a shame to yer police badge!"

"Heiji-senpai is correct, you know," I commented. "We can talk about that later. The officers are here…"

Indeed, Otaki-san and Toyama-san have arrived as well.

Sakata-keiji was stripped of his police badge and arrested. Meanwhile, we were reunited with the others, including Conan who thanked Heiji-senpai for lending the lucky charm. In the end, all of us went into a van which took us to the Hattori residence.

"But there's one thing that's been bugging me though…" Conan told Heiji-senpai on the way back.

"Ya mean tha call that warned Okazaki-san and saved her life?" guessed the Osakan detective.

"She said that the caller was a young male detective, but in her panic, she forgot most of everything except for his warning," Conan recalled.

"The only other detective that knows about this case is Haruka-chan," Heiji-senpai declared. "I don't think that Mouri-san would have been able ta do it, and his voice is obviously not that of a young man's anyways."

"Actually…" I decided to get this done with. "I told Saguru-senpai to call her as soon as he finds her number."

"You did?!" everyone exclaimed.

"But how didja know tha culprit was part of tha police?" the dark-skinned detective asked.

I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head. "I had a bad feeling ever since that body fell on the police car… Luckily, Saguru-senpai sent me the case concerning Gouchi-san and information about the man including where he learned how to drive and particularities about each of the places he was involved in." That was partly true. He _did_ send me a file containing all sorts of information on many politiciens. Gouchi-san happened to be one of them, though I didn't read the file. "I made a few guesses and I took a risk."

"Mataku, ya can't be that reckless in tha future," Heiji-senpai scolded me.

"Sumimasen!" I clapped both hands together.


	14. A Fateful Meeting

**I'm back, minna-san! Only two more weeks of school left!**

**I'd like to thank MoonRaven95, Neo DeruA, Tanaka Yue, selen123, yui639 and moonligh for either adding this story on their favorite list, following it or both. I'm honored.**

**Disclaimer: I'd love to own a lot of things. This series does not happen to be one of them.**

* * *

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

**_Chapter Thirteen - A Fateful Meeting_**

* * *

_It's been a long time since I last had a break,_ I sighed as I walked in the park. _Then again, this break _was_ imposed by the great Hinata-sama aka Miyano Akemi. _

Though Hinata-nee-san herself didn't say anything, having a call from Saguru-senpai telling me that I should take some rest was more than enough to prove her involvement. After all, I've never told Saguru-senpai that I've been so busy I was thinking about skipping school so I can actually get some rest for a change. Other than I, only Hinata-nee-san has his number, as far as I know. As such, she was the only possible culprit unless there are other factors in play – which I think not. Of course, her sweet smile as she shoved me outside had nothing to do with it, not at all.

"So, in other words, Hinata-san kicked you out of your place so you can enjoy a day off?" asked Kaito-senpai as we walked together. "Not that you don't need one, you look like a zombie these days."

"Domo, you really know how to speak to girls, Kaito-senpai," I replied sarcastically. "Sorry for getting you roped in like this by the way. I know that you've found another job. If it weren't for Hinata-nee-san's phone call, you'd be staking the place out in Osaka by now."

"Nah, don't worry about it," he ruffled my hair. "It's not like we've been interacting much lately."

"Good point," I acknowledged. "Well, it looks like I'll have to rearrange my schedule somewhat. No matter how many cases I research, at most, I'll only find the cases where _they_ were involved, but nothing substantial than can be used."

The prankster chuckled. "Now I feel that you're working harder than I am, even though I'm the one who's out for revenge. If you keep this up, I might even lose my night job!"

I scoffed at his reply. "Even if I spent less time doing research, I'm going to be too busy to take on your mantle, Kaito-senpai. Especially since I've been training…"

"Haruka-chan?" He stopped walking. "What is it?"

A bit further in front of us stood the Shounen Tantei, gathered around Ayumi-chan who was holding out a piece of paper. Maybe an address? I don't remember a case taking place in Ekoda-cho and I've never forgotten anything. So if this was a case, it's probably one of Aoyama-sensei's ideas that was dismissed early on. It's not like he drew out every single case he thought of after all…

_Oh well_, I shrugged. _No use just standing here like a statue._

"Conan!" I called out as I approached the group of children. "What brings you and your friends to Ekoda-cho?"

"Haruka-nee-chan!" he exclaimed. "It's been a while… What are you doing here? And who is that nii-chan?"

"Kochira wa Kuroba Kaito desu," I introduced. "Apprentice magician and biggest prankster of all Ekoda High, my classmate."

"Yo, bozu," he grinned. "You kids too. Welcome to Ekoda."

"Soshite kochira wa Edogawa Conan," I smiled. "I'm sure you've at least heard of him, being a Kid fan and all. He's the child detective who stopped Kid from stealing the Black Star a while back. I met him during the Sherlock Holmes case, back when Saguru-senpai was still in Japan."

"The Sherlock Holmes case…" the magician repeated pensively. "Oh, isn't that the one Hakuba regretted not having been able to join? Hinata-san also got mad at you for forgetting your cellphone and getting hurt while protecting someone…"

"Hey, Conan-kun," Mitsuhiko whispered loudly. "Who's that nee-chan anyways?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Conan gestured towards me. "Kochira wa Satou Haruka desu. She's half-Japanese."

"Half-Japanese…" Genta repeated slowly.

"Isn't that the same with Haibara-san?" Mitsuhiko declared.

"It's the same with Satou-sensei too!" Ayumi exclaimed.

"Chotto…" Mitsuhiko said as he thought hard. "Masaka…?!"

"Yup!" I smiled brightly. "Watashi wa Satou Hinata no imouto, kookoosei tantei desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

"Kookoosei tantei?" Genta repeated, disbelieving.

"But you look like a middle-schooler!" Ayumi added.

"Well, now you all know about me, but I don't know anything about you."

"Watashi wa Yoshida Ayumi desu!"

"Boku wa Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko desu."

"Ore wa Kojima Genta desu!" the plump boy declared. "And together we are…"

"The Shounen Tantei!" Mitsuko finished.

"And this is Haibara Ai," Ayumi gestured towards her other friend. "Our newest member!"

"Haibara Ai, ka?" From Cordelia Grey and V. I. Warshawski. "Hinata-nee-san told me a lot about you."

"You mean this little girl is the one Hinata-san is always going on and on about?" Kaito-senpai asked.

"She always talks to you about her?"

"Yeah, of course you wouldn't know since you've been so busy with…"

"I get it already!" I reminded him. "Didn't I already say that I'll tone it down some?"

"Ah, but you're just saying it," he pointed out. "Actions speak louder than words after all."

With a sigh, I turned back to Conan. "So, what is your reason for coming to Ekoda-cho, Conan?"

"Ayumi is visiting her grandfather who lives around here, but…" he began.

"We're kind of los though," Mitsuhiko-kun admitted sheepishly.

"Kaito-senpai and I are free, so we can take you there if you want," I suggested as I pointed towards him. "Though he will be more of a help than me since I haven't exactly taken the time to get used to the layout yet."

oOOo

After ten minutes or so, we stood in front of an old traditional house, similar to the Higurashi residence from Inuyasha. The name on the gate – Saito Kazuo – is a very familiar name. The elderly man who opened the gate was also a very familiar person. Who would have thought… Despite being a fictional world, it certainly is a small one.

_No,_ I shook my head. _It is small _because_ it's a fictional world. A world known from my perspective. "Though the world may seem vast, it is actually quite little, limited by what we see, what we experience, what we hear, what we know…"_

"Irasshai, minna-san," welcomed Ayumi's grandfather. "Satou-kun, I seem you've met Ayumi-chan."

"Konnichiwa, sensei," I bowed respectfully. "This is Kuroba Kaito, a classmate of mine."

"Sensei?"

"Satou-kun is my student," the elderly man explained.

"So that's how it is!" Ayumi-chan exclaimed. "Ojii-san knows wushu, a kind of Chinese martial arts. He told me that he learned it when traveling to China," she told the others. "But I didn't know that Haruka-nee-chan is taking lessons from Ojii-san!"

"Well, I didn't know that sensei's granddaughter was a friend of Conan's either," I smiled. "But I'm still a beginner and nowhere near sensei's level."

"That may be so, but you work very hard to improve, Satou-kun," sensei declared. "Well, why don't you all come in for some snacks!"

"Hai!" the children exclaimed.

"Sorry for bothering you," I bowed again before following the Shounen Tantei.

"Learning martial arts, huh?" Kaito-senpai commented as we went towards the living room. "Well, that certainly explains why you've been going home with bruises lately."

"Warui, it's not that I didn't want to tell you, but you know…" I trailed off.

"Ne, Ojii-san, how did you meet Haruka-nee-chan?" Ayumi-chan asked once we all sat down in the living room.

"Do you remember that case I was involved in a while ago?" Sensei asked as he sat in an armchair. "Satou-kun was the one who solved it."

"That may be, but sensei did save me from the culprit's attack," I added. "After that, I asked sensei to teach me so I can protect myself and others better from criminals. It took a while, but once he accepted, we've been training near the river almost every day, with the exception of weekends. Of course, if I miss a lesson due to a case, sensei will have me do extra training on the next lesson."

"But what case is it?" Kaito-senpai asked. "I don't remember anything like that."

"You might know it better as the "Insane Man Who Killed His Wife" case," I supplied.

"Oh yeah, that one stayed on the news for a while," Conan commented.

Soon, we began talking about other cases we were involved in, school, soccer and other such topics.

"Ne, Haruka-nee-chan, are you really a detective?" Genta asked between bites of food.

"Genta-kun!" Ayumi-chan scolded.

"It's all right," I told them. "Since I'm so young, people rarely believe me when I say that, especially upon the first meeting. After all, I'm nothing more than a child in their eyes."

"Haruka-nee-chan, would you like to join the Shounen Tantei as our senpai?" Mitsuhiko suggested.

"Join the Shounen Tantei?" I repeated curiously.

"Sokka!" Ayumi-chan understood. "If Haruka-nee-chan is with us, then the adults will have to take us more seriously!"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt…" I looked towards Kaito-senpai.

"Do whatever you want," he shrugged.

"Kaito-nii-chan could join us too!" Ayumi-chan added.

"Warui, but being a detective isn't really my thing."

"Phantom thieves are artists who creatively steal their targets," I quoted. "But a detective is nothing more than a critic, who follows their footsteps…"

"So?" he replied indignantly. "What if I _do_ happen to agree with Kid?"

I giggled. "You're such a fan."

"Kaitou Kid's number one fan!" he boasted.

"Well, even if he doesn't want to, I'll drag him along from time to time, alright?" I asked the children.

"Yes!"

"Oi, doesn't my opinion matter?"

I smiled at him sweetly. "From here one, all of your opinions will be rejected!"

We left the Saito residence afterwards, promising to visit again. On the way back, the three children went home together and Kaito-senpai left as well. Only Conan, Ai-chan and I were left.

"So, Conan, is there anything you would like to tell me?" I asked as I walked them to the bus station.

"Not here," he warned. "We'll speak in another place."

During the whole trip, Ai-chan was completely silent. When I looked at her, I noticed that she seemed to be sad. In fact, her eyes had that glow ever since I declared that I was Hinata-nee-san's imouto. Could it be that she had somehow recognized her sister despite that disguise?

oOOo

Once we were at the Hakase's house, Conan explained to me that Haibara Ai was actually a shrunken member of the Organization, known as Sherry. She was also the one who developed the drug that shrank him – the APTX 4896. He didn't mention Miyano Akemi's involvement though, probably deeming that he has told me all that was necessary. Well, it didn't matter for now.

"Do you mind if I call you Ai-chan?" I asked the mini scientist once the explanation was over. "When we're in the presence of others, of course."

"I don't really care," the redhead replied.

"Hinata-nee-san is really taken to you, you know," I declared out of nowhere. "If there's anything wrong, you can go to her for help."

"…"

"You don't need to mention the Organization. Just explain it in a way that would seem normal for a child," I continued.

"…Wakatta."

Though she seemed to have agreed, I know that it will take a lot before she actually takes my advice. I don't blame her though…

"By the way, Shinichi-senpai," I turned towards Conan. "I found a person who could also be useful as an ally."

"You did?"

" I won't give you any details yet, but I've already approached him," I told them. "Due to certain reasons, I want the both of you to be able to judge each other first before deciding whether to actually form an alliance. Would that be acceptable?"

"That guy… Just what kind of person is he?" asked Conan suspiciously.

"He isn't a member of the Organization, nor is he a bad person though some would beg to differ. Those who do have no idea about the truth under the illusion," I stated. "I'm pretty certain that you will be able to put whatever differences you may have aside and work together if the situation calls for it."

I think Conan was starting to understand, because he accepted my proposal without much objection after that.

"Hakase," I called out the professor. "Could you make me a gadget with a transmitter, a tracker and a communicator, all in one?"

"Yes… but why would you need one? Don't you already have Shinichi's number?" he asked.

"I do, but this way, I can also contact Ai-chan if the need ever arises, as well as the Shounen Tantei," I pointed out. "And it would be a more subtle way to pass on information to Shinichi-senpai here without him sneaking around."

"I agree, Hakase," Ai-chan chimed. "Kudou-kun gets in enough trouble as it is."

"Oi, Haibara…"

"Shinichi-senpai can call me once you're finished with it," I added. "Then I'll come to pick it up. It could be a pair of glasses like his since I actually don't need them or a bracelet."

"You're leaving already, Haruka-san?" Conan asked as I stood up.

"Yes, there's not much I can share with you, but if you want, I can bring information on cases that I believe are linked with _them_ when I come over next time."

"That'd be great."

"Oh, and Ai-chan?"

"Nani?"

I smiled softly at her. I know that she is older than I, but right now, she really seems like nothing more than a seven-year-old with more problems than she can deal with.

"Try not to exhaust yourself too much while making the antidote. And if there's anything you need, I'm just a phone call away. I might not have lived through the same things as you, but I also learned how to deal with the harshness of life."

I think that I left an impression on her, because before I left, I believe I saw her make a small, almost unnoticeable nod.

ooOOoo

"So what do you think, Haibara, Hakase?" Conan asked once Haruka left the house.

"I'm surprised that you would put your trust in such a child," Ai said absentmindedly as she looked through her fashion magazine.

"Come on, Ai-kun, Haruka-kun seems to be quite mature and level-headed for her age," Agasa commented.

"But that doesn't mean we can trust her," the shrunken scientist pointed out.

Conan sighed. "Look, Haibara, Haruka-san isn't that bad. She's a good ally to have and I have no reason to distrust her... yet."

The girl put down her magazine. "So you _don't_ trust her. At least not completely."

"There's just something about her that doesn't seem quite right..." the shrunken detective said pensively. "I can feel that I'm missing something important here."

"Her sister sometimes emits _that_ aura, you know."

The bespectacled boy nodded with a frown. "But why? If she is working for the Organization, why didn't she report us yet? If she betrayed _them_, why didn't Haruka-san tell us?"

"Maybe she isn't quite sure how safe it is to trust you yet," Agasa suggested. "After all, you haven't trusted her completely and if Haruka-kun is as good as Shinichi said she was, then she must have noticed."

"The other thing that bothers me is her associate... Who is he?"

ooOOoo

Meanwhile, in Ekoda...

"I told him about your involvement."

"Wow, you sure work fast, Haruka-chan!"

A sigh. "I didn't tell him anything substantial mind you. He's only just revealed an important piece of information that he's been keeping to himself after all."

"So we're still going to follow the plan?"

"Of course. The only change will be the people prowling about our territory soon enough. I don't know when they'll start or when they'll finally go away, but they'll definitely come."

"I'll keep an eye out for them," he promised.

"Don't engage them," the auburn-haired girl warned seriously.

"I know. They're different from the groupies; you two told me more than enough times."

"Anyways, what bout the next heist?" she stopped in front of the river.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about tantei-han's impending arrival?"

"Oh that? I suppose I should... June is a nice time to get married after all," she said a bit wistfully. "I still prefer attending heists."

"Don't worry, Haruka-chan. I'm pretty sure you can do both."

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you."

"I guess." A pause. "You should be careful, that tigress is still... annoyed."

"I'm not surprised." A small smile. "But I can face my sister, adopted or not, Kaitou KID."

* * *

**I know that wasn't really a cliffhanger and that Kaito might have been a bit OOC. This is another short chapter, but at least Haruka gets to meet Agasa and Haibara Ai. The Sherry-hunting arc will take place around three months after this chapter, story timeline-wise. There will be tweaks here and there... You have been warned.**

**On the other hand, I'd like to know how many of you noticed the quote Haruka said in this chapter. It's not a really obvious one, but I thought it fit...**

**Guest: Thank you for reviewing! I hope that you can enjoy this fic until the end!**

**MoonRaven95: I would like to start by thanking you and the other authors who've written this type of story. You've all encouraged me, albeit indirectly, to begin my own. Now, to address the points in your review, my reasons for having Haruka in high school was to show off her intelligence and avoid copying your story. Also, her age acts as a barrier between her and her peers (classmates, her friends, Helena and Lea... etc.). That was the main reason I made her so young compared to most OCs. As for her name, I needed something that gives the impression of someone born from high society. I suppose that Cadice Raelyn de Fay is a mouthful though... At least it's only Satou Haruka now, right? Her name becomes important later on though, so you might want to take note of that...**

**I hope you all enjoyed this short chapter. The next on may be published this weekend as well, but that remains to be seen.**

**Next Chapter: Happy Belated Easter!**


	15. Happy Belated Easter!

**Final sprint before vacation! ^(^o^)^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan.**

* * *

"Talking"

_Thinking_

"Talking in English only"

* * *

**_Chapter Fourteen - Happy Belated Easter!_**

* * *

My name is Candice Raelyn Satou de Fay, a thirteen-year-old high school detective. When I was going to meet my best friends one day, the three of us were sucked through a portal and landed in different worlds. I arrived in the Detective Conan universe where I became Satou Haruka. The only ones who know of my coming from another world are Miyano Akemi, who has been posing as my elder sister, Satou Hinata, ever her death was faked, and the Scarlet Witch Koizumi Akako. However, there are two others who know about Miyano Akemi's real identity: Kuroba Chikage and Kuroba Kaito, respectively known as Phantom Lady and Kaitou Kid. Right now, along with them, Shinichi-senpai and Ai-chan, I am fighting against the Black Organization.

I may be young, but my impeccable memory and my intelligence are my greatest assets. With this second chance, I will never turn back!

oOOo

On August 19th, instead of going to class, I went to the Metropolitan Police Department to attend the Special Kaitou Investigation Conference in Saguru-senpai's stead. Strangely enough, I don't recall such an event in the manga even though it's the kind of thing that's supposed to be a crossover of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito. Especially considering Mouri-tantei's presence here.

"Criminal 1412, or better known as Kaitou, is associated with 134 cases of thievery," declared an officer before sitting down to let another one of his colleagues speak.

"Of which 15 cases are overseas, including America, France, Germany and twelve others."

"Overall 152 gemstones have been stolen, with a net-worth of 38, 925, 000, 000 yen," another declared.

MPD Investigation Group II Superintendent Chaki Shintaro, 49 years old, spoke next. "From that Kaitou Kid, we've received a notice of his next crime."

A picture of the notice was shown on the screen. I quickly memorized it as the message was read.

"From dusk of the beast, through dawn of the virgin. When the second hand upon the clock's face hints to the twelfth symbol, I will take the Memories Egg from the Shining Sky's Chamber. The Last Wizard of the Century, Kaitou Kid."

The officers began to become agitated at the prospect of another heist so soon as the thief had shown himself last night.

"The Memories Egg mentioned in the notice was discovered last month in the Suzuki Corporation's collection," Superintendent Chaki continued as an image of the egg was shown. "A secret treasure of the Romanov Dynasty, the Imperial Easter Egg."

Another officer stood up to share information concerning the target. "The Imperial Egg is a gift from the Russian Tsar to the Queen to honor Easter. These rare eggs were created by gem-craftsman Faberge, between 1885 and 1916. We had previously confirmed just fifty pieces of the collection," he said as pictures of different eggs were shown one after the other. "That means this will be the fifty first found."

Once he sat down, Superintendent Chaki spoke once more. "The Suzuki Corporation, currently in possession of the egg, beginning August 23rd, will have the egg on display near Osaka City Park's at the Suzuki Modern Art Museum. As for the meaning of the notice… Nakamori-kun."

Aoko-senpai's father stood up and began to speak.

"First, "From the dusk of the lion, through the dawn of the virgin". I believe this means the dusk of the final day of Lea, August 22nd, to the beginning of Virgo, which is August 23rd to September 22nd. This is the time frame of the crime," he began. "Next, "When the hand upon the clock's face hints to the twelfth symbol". I believe this relates to the time of the crime, but we haven't solved this part yet. Finally, "I will take the Memories Egg from the Shining Sky's Chamber". This is the Castle Tower in Osaka City," he pointed towards the picture. "Kid will appear there. That means, from the evening of August 22nd through the dawn of August 23rd, he will appear at Osaka Castle to steal the Imperial Easter Egg right out from under us!"

I sweat-dropped a bit at his enthusiasm. Well, at least he knows that Kid will still manage to steal his target no matter what happens. Then again…

Superintendent Chaki spoke up as everyone gasped in awe and clapped at Nakamori-keibu's deduction. "This time we will be working alongside the Osaka Precinct. In addition, abiding by Suzuki-san's wishes, we have invited the famous detective, Mouri Kogorou, for help."

All of the men looked towards Mouri-tantei with evil eyes as the latter sputtered a "Nice to meet you".

"Joining us will also be the youngest high school detective in history who has stopped Kid before: Satou Haruka!"

I nodded at the officers coldly. It was best not to show any weaknesses in front of those predators. "Hajimemashite. Satou Haruka desu."

"This time our objective is to protect the egg with our lives," Superintendent Chaki announced, his hand shaking as it held the microphone. "Even if he is to get away, we must protect the egg."

Nakamori-keibu took away the microphone and said something completely different. "We can't say such irresponsible things! The egg is not the most important! Understand, men, we must uphold our Police Departments' reputation, by catching that annoying bandit and putting him behind bars, we must… We must catch him!"

All of the men (except for those sitting in front and Mouri-tantei) stood up, cheering. As expected of the second division…

oOOo

I arrived in Osaka with the Mouri family where Suzuki Sonoko picked us up in a limousine.

"Oh, a limousine? As expected from the Suzuki Corporation," Mouri-tantei commented as we were on our way to the Modern Arts Museum.

"All because today is special!" Sonoko-san exclaimed.

"Special?"

"Of course!" the heiress gushed. "Today I meet Kaitou Kid-sama for a date with destiny!"

"Typical Sonoko…" Ran-san replied.

_If Kaito-senpai went on a date with all of his fans, he won't have any time left for jewel scavenging._

"I forgot," Sonoko-san said as she turned around. "Our driver is my dad's secretary, Nishino-san. He has been overseas on vacation. He's fluent in English, French and even German."

"Ah, amazing," Ran-san commented.

"Amongst those, I'm only fluent in French and English," I told them. "I've never gotten around learning German, but I am fluent in Chinese."

"Hontou?"

"My best friends were Chinese and they taught me back in the States," I smiled as I remembered how hopeless I had been at pronouncing the words at first. Writing and reading were so much easier.

"Lucky…"

oOOo

Once we got off at the Suzuki Modern Arts Museum, we were greeted with the sight of numerous security guards all over the place. I wouldn't be surprised if they were more than a hundred or two assigned to guard the egg.

A helicopter flew on the roof of the museum, overseeing the area.

"The security is really tight," Ran-san noticed.

"Looks like even an ant couldn't get in," Mouri-tantei agreed.

_In other words, Kaitou Kid is less likely to steal the egg here. In fact, knowing Nakamori-keibu, he will probably have the egg placed somewhere else that only he and two or three trustworthy men know about,_ I frowned. _I spent the last couple of days mulling over this heist – I even helped plan it for once – but I honestly don't remember it, which is impossible. Something like this would need quite a few chapters, so why? Why can't I remember?_

"…The opponent is Kaitou Kid-sama," Sonoko-san was talking to Ran-san and her father. "As others call him…"

"A man known as the master of thievery," a familiar Osakan high schooler continued in her place. "Whether it be a heavy surveillance system or an uncrackable safe, he conquers them all seamlessly. The ability to imitate one's voice, face, and even personality, truly a master of disguise."

"The one officially known as Kaitou 1412, but also nicknamed Heisei Lupin or the Moonlit Magician," I added with a smirk. "Isn't that right, Heiji-senpai?"

"Eh, these types always seem to be against us," the dark-skinned detective replied as both he and Kazuha-san took of their helmets. "Isn't that right, Haruka-chan, Kudou?"

I stifled a giggle as Mouri-tantei mumbled under his breath.

"Mou! Why does Hattori always call Conan-kun by "Kudou" all the time?" Ran-san asked.

"That would be because Conan told Heiji-senpai that he was related to Shinichi-senpai," I explained. "That added to his uncanny resemblance to the Heisei Holmes of the East, Heiji-senpai decided to refer to him as "Kudou". Personally, I think that senpai has taking a liking to Conan and can't wait until the day they can have a battle of wits. For him to call Conan that means he respects him after all."

"Eh? Really?" asked Ran-san.

"Oi, Haruka-nee-chan…" Conan protested.

"It's all right to tell them, isn't it? Or else they'll start having all kinds of crazy ideas like Heiji-senpai being able to speak with Shinichi-senpai telepathically or something," I shrugged. "But since those two have been trying to keep the "Kudou" thing secret, can you four just pretend that you didn't hear a thing?"

Ran-san smiled, seemingly at peace. "Of course, you can count on me."

"Sonoko-san, onegaishimasu."

"Well, it can't be helped, I guess," she shrugged. "Not that I care or anything."

"So that's why Heiji has been sayin' "Kudou will come, Kudou will come" all mornin', huh?" Kazuha-san crossed her arms. "He should at least make a difference between Kudou Shinichi an' this lil' kid."

"Sorry for the confusion," Heiji-senpai rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

oOOo

When I entered the Director's Room with the others, I did not expect to meet four other people who wanted the egg. First there was Russia Embassy's Representative, Selgei Ovchinicov, a well-built man with short silver hair. Then, an art dealer by the name of Inui Shouichi – he seemed like a shady character I'll have to keep an eye out for. There was also a Chinese woman, Hoshi Seiran, who was a researcher of the Romanov Dynasty – she didn't give me the same vibe as Inui-san, but there was something in the way she held herself… As though she was hiding a well of aggressiveness, like an assassin or something. It was different from Ran-san, though I'm not sure why. And finally, there's freelance reporter, Sagawa Ryu, who is going to cover the egg's origins.

_Kaito-senpai, I think that protecting this egg is going to be more difficult than planned,_ I thought as the four people left. _Well, at least I've found possible Scorpion suspects._

_Flashback_

_"You're asking me to help you out with a heist?" I asked in disbelief. We had just finished our lessons for the day and I was staying over at the Kuroba residence since Hinata-nee-san was accompanying the Shounen Tantei on another camping trip as the second chaperone._

_"Well, it's not exactly a heist…" he trailed off. "I'm going to return something."_

_I arched an eyebrow. The only instance he's ever returned objects was when Chikage-san forced him too. And that wasn't for another five-hundred so chapters._

_"Have you ever heard of the Last Wizard of the Century?" Kaito-senpai asked._

_"It rings a bell… It wouldn't happen to be Kousaka Kichi, would it?"_

_"That's him," the magician confirmed. "He lived in Russia for some time and escaped the Revolution with his wife to Japan. I won't give you all of the details, since I know how much you love to solve mysteries, but one of the things he brought with him was the Imperial Easter Egg which I am planning to steal from the Suzuki Corporation."_

_"You wouldn't happen to want to return the egg to its rightful owner, would you?" I asked._

_"Bingo."_

_"I really don't know how I can help you," I admitted. "Even if I were to be invited to stop you from stealing the egg, it's not like you can't gather the information I receive."_

_"Well, I do believe that Nakamori-keibu will try a different strategy this time," he told me._

_"A different strategy…" I repeated. "Considering what he has done so far, he will probably hide the egg somewhere."_

_"I won't be the only one who wants the egg though," Kaito-senpai added. "So I want you to watch out for the others, especially Scorpion."_

_"The thief who's after Romanov Dynasty treasures and shoots his/her victims through the right eye?" I guessed. "I don't mind keeping an eye out for the Rasputin fanatic."_

_"Good. You can contact me by phone until dusk. Once the fireworks appear, the chase will begin."_

_"How will we keep in touch after that?" I crossed my arms. "What if something goes wrong?"_

_"Don't worry, I'll definitely find a way to contact you," he grinned confidently._

_End Flashback_

I was brought back to reality once the box containing the egg was opened. Though there were no jewels on or inside the egg, even an amateur like me can tell that it's a real piece of art. The design was truly beautiful and the small golden sculpture of Tsar Nicholas II's family reading a book, even more impressive. It is not surprising that so many people want the egg.

"Hey, why is the book itself called Memories?" Conan asked after Suzuki-san explained how they were able to identify the egg.

"Idiot! The Tsar got his children together to read them a story," Mouri-tantei declared. "That's the memory!"

_But "Memories" is plural,_ I countered. _The question should be "What are the memories"._

Seeing the others comment on the lack of jewels, I frowned. _The Last Wizard of the Century is very skilled. He wouldn't have added the glass pieces without a reason. But what? There is too little information…_

"Come ta think of it, in Kid's message, he mentioned the Shining Sky's Chamber," Heiji-senpai commented. "Why would Osaka Castle be shinin'?"

"Ahou! The one who built the Osaka Castle noted the base of Osaka Castle was beautiful, so he's sayng it is a light shining on Osaka's history," Kazuha-san declared.

"You're right," Superintendent Chaki agreed as he entered with Nakamori-keibu. "There's no doubt Kid will be appearing at Osaka Castle, of that I'm sure. Right?"

"However, about "When the second hand upon the clock's face hints to the twelfth symbol", we still have no clue," Nakamori-keibu said in disappointment.

"Maybe… the 12th symbol refers to the "AIUEO" table?" Kazuha-san suggested.

_Possible, but doubtful. Kaito-senpai gives the exact time and place he appears at every time,_ I bit my bottom lip pensively. _There must be something in the message that indicates the time. Also, as for Osaka Castle… I doubt he would appear somewhere so conspicuous, considering the lights that shine on the castle. It would be too easy to find him and catch him that way, even before he gets on the roof. There are no advantages to that._

Nakamori-keibu quickly disproves Kazuha-san's guess, claiming that Kaitou KID's riddles aren't so simple. That's when Mouri-tantei declared that it's actually the alphabet's twelfth number. In other words, "L", which refers to three o'clock in the morning.

_That doesn't fit with the hint Kaito-senpai gave me. He doesn't light fireworks late at night – Aoko-senpai's birthday being the only exception. But if fireworks are a diversion, it'll likely be at… Osaka Castle, _I realized. Looking at Conan, I smirked. _It seems that I'm not the only one who's thinking hard about this._

oOOo

With the meeting over, us teens went to the Naniwa Buddha Shrine where we all picked our fortunes. Since everyone believed that the heist won't be for a long time, Heiji-senpai and Kazuha-san will be touring us around Osaka. While the others were occupied, I went to a more secluded area and dialed that person's number.

"Moshi moshi? Haruka-chan?"

"The police thinks that your heist will take place at 3:00 AM tomorrow," I revealed while remaining on the lookout for eavesdroppers. "However, Scorpion may not be so easily fooled."

"I know that," Kaito-senpai replied.

"The ones who want the egg are a representative of Russia's Embassy, an art dealer, a researcher of the Romanov Dynasty and a freelance journalist," I added. "So far, only the art dealer and the researcher seem suspicious, though the journalist is afraid of the secretary, Nishino-san, for some reason."

"Names, ages and description," he instructed.

"You sound just like Saguru-senpai," I commented jokingly.

"Please don't compare me to him."

"Art Dealer Inui Shouichi. Seems to be over his fifties. An overweight man with long, pointy moustache, grey hair and gives an unpleasant vibe. He seems to be the type to be very cupid, but doesn't seem to have any reason to be Scorpion. However, his shady disposition might make him an ally of the thief."

"Romanov Dynasty researcher Hoshi Seiran is of Chinese origin. I'm not sure about her surname, but her name is QingLan in Chinese. I don't have any particular evidence in this case either, but it seems to me that she's making too much effort to seem Chinese. I also feel a bad vibe coming from her. She seems to be around her late twenties, short greyish black hair and grey eyes."

"Got it," Kaito-senpai declared.

"See you soon."

"Where were you?" asked Sonoko-san when I joined them.

"I was just looking around. I didn't get to visit this place the last time I came to Osaka," I replied. "Japanese temples sure are different from American churches. So, what did your fortunes say?"

"Ran got "The one who waits will meet with love once more"," Kazuha-san told me.

"Eh? Well, I'm glad for you, Ran-san," I smiled.

"What about your fortune?" the karate champion asked.

I took it out. "Let's see… Future Blessing. Studies: A smooth path ahead. Business Dealings: Rise of recognition. Soshite… Eh?!"

"What is it, Haruka-nee-chan?" Conan asked.

"It's just that this last section seems too silly for words…" I grimaced.

"What is it?" Sonoko-san asked. "Let me see!"

"Hey!" I exclaimed as she snatched the paper away.

After reading it, the Suzuki heiress gave a wicked chuckle.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Haruka-chan," she grinned evilly. "It's actually pretty good."

_No,_ I objected. _It's not good at all._

"Romantic Relationship: First love will grow and blossom like the sakura trees," she read for everyone to hear.

"Sonoko-san…"

"Haruka-chan has a crush?" asked Heiji-senpai. "Who is it?"

"There's no one!" I replied irritably. "And Sonoko-san, please return that fortune to me."

"All right, all right," she gave it back. "But like I said, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed of something that isn't even true," I told her.

"But the fortunes here always come true," Kazuha-san declared.

"Someone up there must hate me…"

oOOo

The heist had proceeded smoothly. Kaitou KID set off the fireworks at Osaka Castle as planned and the power substation was also rendered useless. From there, KID had no problems finding the egg's location and heading towards it. Of course, by then, Heiji-senpai and Conan have already solved the code and were heading to the warehouse as well. As for me, I headed towards the place I knew Kaitou KID would escape towards, following the wind.

From what I had gathered from the two Heisei Holmes, Nakamori-keibu and his two subordinates have been put to sleep and Kaitou KID escaped thanks to a pink smokescreen. Then, as they tried to follow him, Heiji-senpai got in an accident which forced Conan to follow the thief by skateboard.

That's where things went downhill. I heard a shooting sound nearby as KID approached with the egg in his possession. Conan later told me that a sniper was aiming at KID from a bridge. Being closer, I arrived at the scene ealier than Conan and found Kaito-senpai's favorite dove injured, unable to fly. The box containing the egg had shattered, but the Imperial Easter Egg itself did not seem to have suffered any damage. And there, right next to it, was KID's broken monocle which I pocketed along with the glass shards.

"Could it be that… KID fell into the sea?!" Conan exclaimed after I told him about the monocle.

"It's possible," I glanced at the water worriedly. The fact that he hasn't resurfaced despite his fear of fish is worrying indeed… But since he appears later on, he couldn't have died… right? Or did I simply change too many things?

A search was conducted that very night, but it is still unknown whether KID is dead or alive. Every so often, I would grasp the broken monocle in my pocket, hoping that he was safe and sound.

The next day, we all boarded the Suzuki Luxury Liner to return to Tokyo, where the egg will be examined. On the way back, I met Kousaka Natsumi, the great-granddaughter of the Last Wizard of the Century.

She told us a bit of her family history and showed us the sketch her great-grandfather made of the egg, though the middle part was missing. There was no doubt that it was the Memories Egg KID had failed to steal.

"It says here that there are gems inside," Suzuki-san read.

"Could it be it originally had gems, but someone replaced them?" Mouri-tantei suggested.

"Or one of the eggs could have the gems inside whereas the other one is the egg currently before us," I suggested.

"What do you mean?" asked Natsumi-san.

"See here," Conan pointed at the sketch. "If it was the same egg, wouldn't the outline align?"

"It's most likely that the sketch was actually of two eggs, and the middle part is missing which makes it seem as though it is actually only one," I suggested as Conan picked up the egg to examine it.

He seemed to have dropped a small mirror though, which he hurried to pick up. That was when he discovered the magic mirror trick. The image shown by the magic mirror was none other than that of the Yokosuka castle. That was when I heard Mouri-tantei say something sensible for the first time.

"Natsumi-san, could both eggs have been created by your great-grandfather?" he asked. "While fleeing from the Russian Revolution, he brought the two eggs along with him. And then, I believe he sold the gems from the second egg, which leads us to believe he built the castle and hid the gemless egg there. And he left this hidden message in the egg's mirror for his descendants to discover."

"Ano, I actually found this old key with designs. Is it important?" the young woman asked as she showed it to us.

"It's most likely the key to the location of the second egg," I replied.

Then, everyone's attention was turned towards the second egg. We were all invited to the Yokosuka Castle a bit after our return to Tokyo as a result.

oOOo

That night, the first murder – if you don't count Kaitou KID's case – has occurred. I was walking in the hallway at the time, deep in thought, when I saw Nishino-san head towards Sagawa-san's room to tell him dinner is ready. However, Sagawa-san was already dead when it happened.

"Nishino-san, go get Mouri-tantei as quickly as possible and call the police as well!" I instructed as I put on a pair of gloves.

Once he left, I scanned the room. It looked as though a thief had entered and destroyed it in his/her search for something.

_Could it be the ring they were looking for?_

If that was the case, then Scorpion was on the move. I've already narrowed the murderer's identity by now, but I have no evidence as of yet.

"He was shot through his right eye," I told the others when Mouri-tachi arrived. "His face has begun to stiffen, so death must have occurred about half an hour ago. The motive for this murder is to obtain the pendant, most likely, but considering the state of the room, there could also be another motive."

"Suzuki-shachou, could you call the police?" asked Mouri-tantei, apparently satisfied with my findings. "This is a murder case."

oOOo

The police arrived in a helicopter some minutes later. Joining us were Megure-keibu, Shiratori-keibu and Takagi-keiji.

Mouri-tantei and I quickly reported our findings to Megure-keibu when a member of the forensics team found Nishino-san's ballpen. That made the secretary the primary suspect of the murder, which I found odd. His expression of shock when he found Sagawa-san dead was genuine and I doubt that someone like him would drop his pen so easily. Furthermore, he wasn't even able to enter the room, not hesitating to leave the scene.

"You were the first person to find the body, right?" Mouri-tantei questioned.

"Yes, dinner had been prepared so I went to tell him."

"At that time, did you enter the room?" asked Megure-keibu.

"No," the bespectacled secretary shook his head.

"If you didn't enter the room, then how did your ballpen get in it?" Mouri-tantei asked, doubting the man's innocence.

"I can attest that he never entered the room from the moment he found Sagawa-san's corpse," I declared. "I was with him in the hallway at the time and I was the one who entered the room and sent him to you."

"I see," Megure-keibu nodded. "Nishino-san, where were you at 7:30 PM?"

"Let's see… I was taking a shower in my room around 7:10 PM, then took a short nap," he told us.

"In other words, you don't have a solid alibi," I crossed my arms as Takagi-keiji ran into the room.

"Megure-keibu! After searching the victim's room, we noticed that his video tapes are missing," he reported.

_Video tapes? Then there is the possibility that clues alluding to Scorpion's identity have been taped, probably during Sagawa-san's tour around the rooms which explains why he hasn't been killed earlier. The fact that he possessed Maria's ring was an excellent excuse to frame someone else for the crime, _I realized. _If Scorpion is indeed that person, then his/her actions make perfect sense as Sagawa-san must've visited before us. _

Noticing Conan running out of the room, I quickly followed after him and Ran-san. Once Ran-san returned upstairs, I was met face to face with Shiratori-keibu.

"What do you think you are doing here?"

"I would ask the same from you," I replied. "Don't give me the sniper excuse. We both know that the murderer is in the room with everyone else."

"Since when did you notice?" he smirked.

"Since you appeared. I know from the real inspector himself that he's gone to a trip to Karizawa and doesn't intend to return for a while," I told him. "If you don't mind, I'll have a few words with Conan."

"Don't you mean Kudou Shinichi?" Kaito-senpai smirked under his mask.

"I'll have a long talk with you later," I told him as I left. "Be prepared."

"I think I can handle whatever you throw at me," he smirked.

oOOo

"Are you allergic to feathers, Nishino-san?" asked Conan after he found the padded pillow.

"Yes."

"Then Nishino-san can't be the culprit!" Conan exclaimed before Mouri-tantei could hit him again.

"Conan is right," I added. "After all, someone allergic to feathers wouldn't be able to destroy the pillows in his search to find the video tapes."

With that, Nishino-san's innocence was plain for all to see. However…

"If that's so, who's our culprit?" asked Megure-keibu.

"My best guess would be Scorpion," I said in Conan's stead.

"Scorpion?"

"It's a criminal who steals treasures of the Romanov Dynasty and often kills by shooting through the right eye," I explained. "That was the case with Sagawa-san and KID's monocle, which is worn on his right eye, was broken when he was shot. It is also interesting to note that on both instances, the victim had been in possession of an object of the Romanov Dynasty."

"Oh, now that you mention it, that person is wanted by Interpol," Megure-keibu recalled. "But how do you know about him?"

"Saguru-senpai tells me a lot of things," I replied.

"But even if Scorpion is the criminal, why would Sagawa-san's missing ring show up in Nishino-san's room?"

"It's actually quite simple," I replied. "First, Sagawa-san and Nishino-san seem to have met before and the former dislikes Nishino-san very much. Thus, Sagawa-san tried to frame Nishino-san for stealing the ring by presenting it to us. Afterwards, he put the ring under the bed and stole the pen when Nishino-san was taking his shower. When Sagawa-san returned to his room, he was then confronted by Scorpion who killed him then tore the room down to look for the pendant and the video tapes. The reason for stealing the video tapes would be because Scorpion's identity was unveiled in them."

"That means, Scorpion's still somewhere on this ship?" asked Megure-keibu.

"About that…" Kaito-senpai interjected. "There is a missing lifeboat."

"That means Scorpion escaped by boat!" Mouri-tantei exclaimed.

"Although we can get an arrest warrant, it won't be an easy arrest," the thief in disguise added.

"Well, knowing that the murderer is no longer on this ship is quite reassuring, right?" Inui-san asked the others.

"Yes, I am no longer worried," the Kousaka Family butler agreed.

"Don't forget Scorpion could steal the other egg, which may be at the Kousaka Family castle," Kaito-senpai told Megure-keibu. "No, may be already on their way. Megure-keibu! After we arrive in Tokyo, I would like to accompany Natsumi-san to the castle."

"I understand, you may go."

"Do you hear that?" Mouri-tantei asked Conan. "This time, I won't let you go."

"No, Conan-kun needs to go," Kaito-senpai objected. "His unique views may prove useful."

"This kid?"

"Yes…" Kaito-senpai said ominously.

_Never mind becoming a magician, Kaito-senpai. Your skills at scaring children are so much more useful_, I sighed.

oOOo

"What in the seven levels of Hell were you thinking, you idiot?!"

We were in one of the deserted corridors, far from the others. My fists shook as I restrained myself for hitting him. I mean, yes, I knew that he is always facing the threat of death during heists, but he doesn't die. However, this time was too close for comfort. Even though I finally remembered that we were playing out the events in one of Detective Conan's movies – the third, I believe – it didn't change the fact that his actions left much to be desired. Couldn't he have sent me a little message or something? I really thought that he was dead!

"Warui, warui," Kaito-senpai sweat-dropped at my expression.

"Warui isn't enough!" I told him before slumping against the wall behind me in defeat. "Honestly… Why can't you think about the people who care for you from time to time?"

"Haruka-chan…"

Suddenly, a purple rose appeared in my field of vision, and with it, a white gloved hand. Looking back up, I see Kaito-senpai – still in his disguise – offering a cheeky grin as an attempt to apologize.

I accepted the flower and pulled him in a hug. I've never lost someone who was important to me before, except for Helena and Lea. Akako-senpai told me that they were doing well and may face dangers as bad as my own, but I believed in them. Losing Kaito-senpai, Hinata-nee-san or anyone else I've grown to care for in this world… I don't think that I would be able to withstand it.

As one of his arms wrapped around my waist, the other pulled off my hairband.

"Here, now you look much prettier, don't you?" he teased.

"Baka…"

Once he was gone, I could only reflect on what just happened. For some reason, I had a strong feeling of foreboding… I couldn't tell whether it had to do with Kaito-senpai or Scorpion, but it felt like nothing I've ever been through before. As though I just unlocked the Pandora Box with a key I've sworn to never use…

* * *

**So this is it for this chapter!**

**Storyboard Sketch: Sorry if the Japanese confused you... In the future, I'll add the translations for sentences. As for Conan finding her out, right now, he's still on his guard, but the likehood of him finding out that she came from another world is very small. After all, so far, Haruka has proof to support her accusations during cases and still keeps him at an arm's length. **

**chibianimefan26: I'm glad that you've been enjoying this story so far. I like reading your reviews - they're quite emotional ;)**

**Coming up next is the second part of the Easter Arc! I hope you enjoy!**

**Next chapter: Royal Easter Egg**


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